EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Mr. Speaker, NAM estimates that Nunavut’s municipal infrastructure deficit is $600 million.
The Government of Nunavut, the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, the Gas Tax Incentive, and the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund will provide less than $200 million over the next five years to help address Nunavut’s Municipal Infrastructure deficit.
Mr. Speaker, Nunavut’s municipal infrastructure is crumbling and seriously decreases the quality and standard of life in our communities now and in the future. Our inability to provide much help to our communities is due in part to flawed national infrastructure programs that penalize territories and provinces with small populations.
Mr. Speaker, the Nunavut Association of Municipalities has created the position of Infrastructure Research Manager that is funded through the Gas Tax Incentive Capacity Fund. NAM’s goal is to increase the amount of infrastructure in Nunavut communities by identifying alternative funding programs and options, and applying to them.
The scope and responsibilities for this new position are daunting; they highlight what the Nunavut Association of Municipalities sees as a critical requirement to initiate immediate action before Nunavut’s municipal infrastructure deficit deepens.
Mr. Speaker, among other duties, the manager will research and write funding applications, conduct research for community projects, promote solutions that improve the environment, and communicate and liaise with three levels of government.
Mr. Speaker, I would like the House to join me in congratulating NAM on taking the initiative to establish the Infrastructure Research Manager position.
I sincerely hope that officials in all levels of government extend a warm welcome to the incumbent when he calls or visits them.
Member’s Statement 130 – 2(4): Recentralization of GN Positions (Tootoo)
Mr. Tootoo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and welcome back.
I rise today to express some serious concerns about the government’s recent announcement that a number of positions in the Departments of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs and Health and Social Services will be moved to the Department of Finance.
As members will recall, questions were posed in the House during our recent sitting on this matter and assurances were given. Since that time, I and the other members of the Legislative Assembly have received correspondence from the Nunavut Employees Union on this issue.
Later today, I will be tabling correspondence and a copy of a petition that has been signed by the impacted employees in the Department of Health and Social Services.
And I commend them on their courage for speaking out.
Mr. Speaker, I am disturbed by what I have been told by the employees and their representatives about their treatment during this affair.
I do not think that this is good for the morale of our workforce, which I believe is already on shaky ground.
If this is how our employees under the protection of the union are treated, it can only be left to speculate how employees who are excluded are being treated.
It appears clear to me that employees do not feel that they have been fairly treated. It appears clear to me that adequate notice for this decision was not provided. It appears clear to me that efforts need to be taken to rebuild our workforce’s confidence in their leadership.
Mr. Speaker, later today, I will have questions to the minister on this issue.
There will be GN staff across the government who I’m sure will be listening very closely.
We would like to welcome Mr. Stanbury at the Gallery.
Question 168 – 2(4): Recentralization of GN Positions (Tootoo)
As the minister would recall, I posed questions to him during our last sitting on the issue of the government’s plan to move a number of financial management positions from the Departments of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs and Health and Social Services to the Department of Finance.
At the time I questioned the wisdom of shuffling Iqaluit-based positions when it seems clear that the Government of Nunavut’s toughest challenges in this area are being faced in its decentralized offices and I look forward to scrutinizing the upcoming supplementary appropriation bill to request approval from this House for the government to spend the funds necessary for implementing this announcement.
Can the minister tell the House today how many employees have actually been moved to the Department of Finance and are now in their new jobs?
Hon. David Simailak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) It is my understanding that the staff from the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs are scheduled to physically move to the Department of Finance by Friday, June 1.
I don’t see a note on that as such for what the actual situation is with the health positions, but health positions that are identified to be moved; affected are 11 in Iqaluit, five in Rankin Inlet, and four in Cambridge Bay.
Mr. Tootoo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the minister for that.
I just thought by now that you would have an idea of when those people were going to be going there.
It is no secret, as my former colleague from Baker Lake used to say, that the impacted employees in the Department of Health and Social Services have felt poorly treated by the way that this decision was made.
The union has expressed serious concerns. Even the Government of Nunavut’s own policy on excluded employees affected by reorganization clearly states and I’ll quote, “Employees will be treated fairly and will be given reasonable notice.”
Can the minister explain to the House today why he told us on March 12 that, quote, he had “not heard of anyone who doesn’t want to be transferred to the Department of Finance”?
Yes, on March 12, 2007, I did state that I had not heard of anyone who didn’t want to be transferred to the Department of Finance, and that is true.
At that time I was not aware of anyone who did not want to be transferred but I also said at that time that if there is such a case we would work with this individual and see what would work best.
I would like to thank the minister for that response and remembering the commitment he made back then and I appreciate him making that again.
Like I said, he did make that commitment to work with employees on this matter.
Can he tell us today what message the government has to offer these staff now if they feel that they don’t want to move, or that they’re being unfairly treated? What message does he have to send to them now?
There has been a meeting and consultation with the Nunavut Employees Union, the Government of Nunavut, and the affected staff members.
Although this meeting did not happen before the announcement, nor did it have to.
We have taken a number of steps to make this transition as easy as possible for the employees affected through interviews with each of the potentially transferred staff.
Jobs were assessed to determine whether or not they fit the criteria for transfer, and staff were informed that if their jobs fit the criteria for transfer, they would receive a letter notifying them.
Staff were informed that their positions would not be changed in any significant way and that they would not have to relocate to another community. Because we appreciate the expertise that these employees have in their current work, we hope that they will go on with this transfer.
However, they were informed that if they were not happy with the move they are free to apply on other jobs within the Government of Nunavut.
I know that this all ties in with the government’s desire to tighten up its financial management practises across the government and I know in the recent federal budget, there was $23 million in funding to address financial management practices and systems.
Can the minister provide the House with details on how that money will actually be spent?
Let me just find my note on the $23 million, please.
There were four areas that we identified where we needed more training.
In our presentation to federal Finance, we had indicated that funding was needed in four areas, and that’s where the $23 million over seven years comes in.
There are skills and development training, expansion of the accountability framework, preparation of the public accounts, strengthening financial management, like increased financial systems, like increasing bandwidth across the territory.
Question 169 – 2(4): Medical Escorts for Elders (Mapsalak)
Earlier today I spoke on the issue of medical escorts for unilingual elders.
Can the minister explain to this House why unilingual elders are being denied medical escorts when they travel for medical service outside of their community?
The current Medical Travel Policy that has been in place since 2002 allows elders requiring assistance while they travel to medical centres for escorts.
If the individual is aware of a particular individual that he thinks should have an escort, I would like to know that.
I have not received information or concern from the member on a recent concern related to this. The current policy as it stands allows for escorts where medical travel is required for unilingual elders.
In circumstances where we may not have an escort travelling with a person is, for instance, in a medivac aircraft. If there is no room in the aircraft, that person is first and foremost.
Our primary goal is to get that person into a medical facility where they can be treated for their illness, and the following day the escort would follow on a scheduled aircraft. In those circumstances we need to that just because of the size of the aircraft that we use.
So in the case of where the member is raising this issue on a particular person, I would like to know who that is so that I could do an adequate follow-up.
The minister stated in this House that under the current Medical Client Travel Policy there are provisions for escorts for unilingual elders. Can the minister explain why these provisions are not always being followed?
I think I just answered that question in my first reply.
In situations where the aircraft is not big enough to have more than so many people in the aircraft, if a person is on a stretcher and there’s not enough space; in those circumstances the escort would follow the following day to where the individual has been sent.
In the case where an escort is not required for the medical travel, but the policy itself is clear in that if a person requires medical travel assistance when they’re being sent to medical centres they are assigned an escort.
These unilingual elders are mostly travelling by scheduled flights, not medivacs. The minister has indicated that a new Client Travel Policy is being developed.
Can the minister provide and update on the timeline for the implementation for the new Client Travel Policy?
The Cabinet Members have approved the current draft and the direction that I received at that time was to put in the manual for the medical travel, not just the transportation piece but rather the whole Medical Travel Policy with guidelines to be used at various facilities in the communities.
That is still in the works and we hope to have that information to Cabinet for approval sometime this summer.
I have put forth a plan for the one piece related to escorts, but on a broader scale, the decision was made to putting the manuals in place, the implementation guidelines for every health centre in our communities, not just for the health centers but also for social services. That’s where we are at this point in time.
According to our latest population statistics, the elders account for just eight percent of our total population. Will this fact be taken into consideration when the department reviews client travel issues such as providing escorts for elders?
The Medical Travel Policy is much broader than just transporting a person from A to B. The Medical Travel Policy is a way for us to describe how we provide medical services to individuals in Nunavut where the medical service is not available.
So it’s much broader in that context; all of that is considered in developing the policy.
At the same time another major factor that we have to consider in designing a policy is the financial implications it will have on our budget.
At the same time we also work with insurance companies that will tell us what they will cover and what they will not cover. For example, Non-Insured Health Benefits is a federal program that covers many of the health costs of Nunavummiut, and they tell us what they cover and what they will not cover.
So in those discussions we need to know up front whether they will cover any enhancements to what we’re asking for. So these are negotiations that take place as another factor that we have to consider in the policy.
The other piece is there are other medical insurance programs that we have to work with. For instance, Government of Nunavut employees have a Medical Travel Policy and/or guidelines and insurance plans that are separate from Non-Insured Health Benefits.
So all these are factors that are being considered in the design of the medical travel policy and guidelines for Nunavut. One small piece of that is travel, costly although, but it is a piece that is part of that overall bigger development of that policy and procedures and guidelines for our health centres in Nunavut.
Question 170 – 2(4): RFP for Cambridge Bay Housing (Peterson)
Mr. Speaker, I raised the shortage of housing in Cambridge Bay for health professionals on several occasions over the years. In fact, I’m getting rather tired of raising it, and I’ll raise it again because apparently the minister is not listening.
Last summer, the Nunavut Housing Corporation put out an RFP for housing that in my opinion was flawed. In fact, only one business responded.
I asked the minister in November of 2006 if he is going to issue another request for proposal for Cambridge Bay. To date I have not seen a request for proposal and now, it’s the end of May.
My question for the minister: can the minister tell the House if the Nunavut Housing Corporation will be issuing an RFP in Cambridge Bay that will allow sufficient lead time for developers to meet sealift deadlines for July in Cambridge Bay?
Hon. Olayuk Akesuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome you.
The Nunavut Housing Corporation has dealt with this and next month we will be doing a request for proposal for Cambridge Bay.
Anyone familiar with Cambridge Bay and the sealift would realize that you shouldn’t be bringing out RFPs in June or July. The shipping is from Hay River, if you’re going to build a house or a building, you’d have to get it to Hay River in July.
My question for the minister, and again, I have to question how serious you are, I’m asking the minister: if they Nunavut Housing Corporation was serious about addressing the housing shortage for health professionals in Cambridge Bay, then why did they waste the last ten months doing nothing about it?
We have to be able to work with various departments and we have to have the funding available. We have been doing that.
I know that this item is rushed, but the houses that are vacant right now, I think there are about eight of them, that could be used for the Department of Health staff, at the present time they are vacant, but if we don’t have staff we can’t fill them.
Those are the types of things that we’ll be dealing with again.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Minister. Your second supplementary, Mr. Peterson.
Mr. Speaker, I have been dealing with this issue for five or six years now.
When I was mayor, I told the government about what the problem was. They had to address housing.
They reassured me, the various Deputy Ministers of Health reassured me, and the Housing Corporation reassured me that housing would not be an issue.
Now, we have a health facility that is, according to the HSS assistant deputy minister, 70 percent operational. There’s no end in sight. I believe they need 20 houses in Cambridge Bay for health professionals.
The minister mentioned eight.
He mentions they need staff. I don’t know what staff he is referring to: the Housing Corporation staff, or do they need nurses and doctors? They keep going on in circles, so I’m not sure what the minister is saying.
He did mention one interesting thing is that they have to identify funding. I have reviewed the budgets for Health and Social Services and the Housing Corporation and there doesn’t appear to be any funding budget for housing for health professionals in Cambridge Bay.
My question for the minister is: can the minister explain to me when he is putting out an RFP where the Nunavut Housing Corporation or the Government of Nunavut will find the funds necessary to construct or lease housing for health professionals in Cambridge Bay?
The eight that I was talking about are with the Health staff. We have to look at the budget as to where we are going to receive the money for the community of Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, and here in Iqaluit so the health centres can operate effectively. We have been looking for funding for those issues for the Health Department, or the staff of the Government of Nunavut.
This is very important and we know that we have to have adequate housing for our health professionals.
This is the ongoing work that we are doing.
The funding that we will be receiving from the government has to be scrutinized and looked at as to where the houses will be built.
Mr. Speaker, I hate to keep harping on this, but there is a critical housing shortage in Cambridge Bay. The eight houses that the minister referred to that are available for health, I don’t think they are.
They are available for all the Government of Nunavut employees. All the departments have staff coming and going.
I hope he takes it very serious.
I don’t want to have to bring it up again in November. We’re starting to sound like a broken record. It’s embarrassing to stand here session after session asking the same question and getting the same answers.
My question for the minister: if and when housing is provided for health professionals, would those health professionals be expected to pay the same rents for housing that other Government of Nunavut employees pays as per the Government of Nunavut’s Staff Housing Policy?
(interpretation ends) Can we have some order, please.
Those are the types of things that we are dealing with right now.
I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, if I can get the member to repeat his question because I had forgotten the question.
Due to the confusion and there was a power outage for a few seconds, can you please repeat your question, Mr. Peterson.
Perhaps the minister can fix the power problem over on the other side there.
We’ve heard that a lot of Government of Nunavut staff are leaving because of high rents, we hear it is hard to attract health professionals because of the housing issue and the expensive rents they might be expected to pay.
So my question for the minister: would health professionals be expected to pay for the same rent for their housing that other Government of Nunavut employees pay as per the Government of Nunavut’s Staff Housing Policy?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Peterson. Minister responsible for Nunavut Housing, Minister Akesuk.
The Government of Nunavut staff pays the same rent when they are in the staff housing.
Question 171 – 2(4): Update on the Deep Sea Port in Nunavut (Curley)
I would like to welcome you back.
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier.
The Conservative Party will be doing their campaign and they said that they would bring up icebreakers in the north, and they would provide a deep sea port.
I think the people of Nunavut are expecting a deep sea port.
Can the government leader provide the people of Nunavut what is happening to date?
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): [Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We have continued to remind the government and to ensure it remains a priority.
I have been informed that this project is being pursued ahead.
They have not decided exactly where the port and the school are going to be located.
We have told the government that these projects must proceed, particularly when they were part of campaign promises in the last election.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.]
Mr. Curley (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker and I thank the Premier.
Mr. Premier, you have to continue with the job that you were given the responsibility for.
We have heard from the Conservative Government that some of the people have not come here because they get cold feet.
I am sure you have heard through the media, in the Toronto Star, that Ottawa will be purchasing six patrol ships. We have not heard where those six patrol ships will be located.
I think these are the replacements for what the Conservative Government promised us, and I know that there would be more education for the people of Nunavut if they want to learn how to navigate ships for that reason.
I know that those six ships will not be adequate for the north.  Can the Premier tell us if those six ships will be the replacements for what they promised us?
The news story have not been confirmed as yet, but we continue to lobby the government to make good on their commitments.
At this time, I cannot say whether it will be in the form of these ships.
We believe the school and port are very important to the people of Nunavut, and so very much want to see these projects to proceed and be built within Nunavut.
A news report on May 13 stated, (interepretation ends) the key federal cabinet committee (interpretation) wanted to see six patrol ships, and these would be arctic patrol ships. They would be small but they would be able travel through the brand new ice.
If we don’t say anything about that, we might be missing our opportunity because the icebreakers… said that they would be based in Nunavut and that they would build the arctic port.
Perhaps the Premier can tell Nunavummiut that he will look into that and ask the federal government not to replace the promises that the Conservative Government had stated during their campaign.
So we would like to hear from you, Mr. Premier, about that.
Yes, the most important thing for us is the deep sea port, and also training of military in Nunavut.
We know that they’re very important and that they need to go ahead.
If the Conservative Government wants to be re-elected by Nunavummiut… they made promises to Nunavummiut but we’re still waiting for them to deliver on those promises. We’re not going to just sit and wait. We’ll need to deal with that.
If they wanted to get re-elected again, they will have to deal with that.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Premier. Your final supplementary, Mr. Curley.
I believe that this is a true report.
The recommendation made by the Cabinet Committee, it had already been given to Prime Minister Steven Harper for his approval.
For that reason, you should write a letter as soon as possible to make sure that these patrol ships will not replace the promises that they made to us, that they will be building six patrol ships.
I believe that this is an urgent case and this request is already in the Prime Minister’s Office, so if you could provide some sort of support to Nunavummiut we would appreciate it.
As they said before that it would help with the sovereignty patrol, and if we keep telling the federal government that if we’re going to have sovereignty they have to provide more authority to the Government of Nunavut.
It’s not just patrol ships - the deep sea ports and training facilities are going to be very important to us; it will help the Canadian sovereignty of the north and that’s what we keep talking about.
I will include that in our discussions and we will not stop dealing with this. I will look into exactly what their position is and discuss the promises.
Question 172 – 2(4): Medical Travel Airline Bookings (Barnabas)
My colleague Mr. Mapsalak mentioned an issue in regard to the patients that have been left behind.
Today this is still a problem in my riding and it has been brought up again the reason being that the elders are sent out on medical travel without an escort when they have to go down south, or when they have to travel on emergency airplanes or medevacs.