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Mr. Speaker, the Nunavut Association of Municipalities held their annual general meeting in Cambridge Bay October 8 to 10, 2015.
Representatives from 20 communities were in attendance.
Several stakeholder groups presented and met with NAM delegates to provide updates on work taking place across the territory and discuss issues important to communities.
These stakeholders included:
(interpretation ends) Polar Knowledge Canada from the Canadian High Arctic Research Centre
(interpretation) Nunavut Planning Commission
NorthwesTel
Nunavut Court of Justice
Department of Economic Development and Transportation, and
Department of Community and Government Services (CGS)
As Minister for CGS, I would like to thank the NAM members for the opportunity to meet with municipalities again this year.
This AGM provides a forum to learn about issues and developments in our municipalities, and also share information about the work we are doing as a department and territorial government.
I would like to congratulate Jeannie Ehaloak, Mayor of Cambridge Bay, on her re-election as President of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities, and welcome Brian Fleming as NAM’s new executive director.
On behalf of CGS and the GN, I look forward to continuing the collaborative partnership we have with NAM to build strong, self-reliant, and sustainable communities in Nunavut.
The Hon. Minister responsible for Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs, Premier Mr. Taptuna.
Minister’s Statement 028 – 4(3): Hivuliqtikhanut Leadership Development Program (Taptuna)
Hon. Peter Taptuna (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) Good afternoon, colleagues, Kuglukturmiut, and Nunavummiut.
Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to provide the latest information to my colleagues on the Hivuliqtikhanut leadership development program.
This program aims to strengthen Nunavut’s public service and provide the necessary tools and skills to become effective future leaders.
Mr. Speaker, our delivery partners, PGF Consultants and Institute on Governance, have extensive experience delivering public sector leadership training nationally and internationally.
The Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs has been working closely with our partners on the program design of the supervisor series to ensure it is customized for our government and that Inuit societal values are intertwined throughout the program.
The first module was delivered late last month and covered the history of Nunavut, with guest speaker Mr. John Amagoalik.
Seven modules taking place over three days will be delivered every six weeks between September 2015 and June 2016.
One of the seven modules will be delivered in a community outside of Iqaluit.
The 24 students from five communities in the supervisors’ series are current supervisors or experienced program managers preparing to become supervisors in the immediate future. Seventy-one percent of the participants who form this cohort are beneficiaries.
Mr. Speaker, deputy ministers, assistant deputy ministers, and elders will be involved throughout the program as guest speakers, offering their insights, knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Additionally, I’m excited to say that Dalhousie University will review the entire program to determine if the Hivuliqtikhanut leadership development program meets their requirements towards accreditation.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Nunavut recognizes the need for building capacity within our organization. We are committed to supporting and providing training for leadership development for our public servants so that they have the skills to develop policies and programs that respond to the government mandate and meet the needs of Nunavummiut.
Member’s Statement 068 – 4(3): Festival by the Lake (Mikkungwak)
I rise today to express my gratitude and I wrote a letter to all the Members of the Legislative Assembly inviting them to Baker Lake.
During the summertime in August 2015, there was a festival by the lake in Baker Lake.
Private businesses, the mining companies, the government, and the community’s residents all took part in this festival by the lake in Baker Lake.
There were performances and there were a lot of people coming in from the other communities and they showed what there is in the communities. The performances were from Iqaluit, from the Qanurli show.
The children and families were very happy to see the special visit by Qanurli.
Also, for the children, we had Olaf, Anna, Elsa, Super Shamou from Baker Lake, Captain Hook, and Jack Sparrow. Also, there was a performance by Robin Chestnut, who did the juggling performance using torches with fire.
Also, we welcomed elders, Mr. Mark, (interpretation ends) Jerry “The Big Bear” Barrett, (interpretation) and we had a special visitor, Elvis, and from Nunavut, Pangnirtung, Tim Evic did a performance.
There were some family and fun activities also. There was the bouncing castle and face painting.
(interpretation) I didn’t hear any nays. Please proceed, Mr. Mikkungwak.
Mr. Mikkungwak (interpretation): Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I also thank my colleagues.
As I stated earlier, there were some family fun activities. Government agencies and the community took part. They had a showcase and held the Kivalliq Calm Air Junior Cup.
They also had fireworks each evening.
Lastly, I want to speak about our elders. In Baker Lake, we were very pleased. Elders, youth, and children were very pleased to take hot air balloon rides.
It arrived in Baker Lake and the elders were very happy to see it because they had never seen one before in their lives. They were even able to take hot air balloon rides. It made them very happy.
I even went for a ride and it was very enjoyable.
This was a very good experience because we have never experienced that before.
Member’s Statement 069 – 4(3): Congratulations to Kivalliq Inuit Association Scholarship Recipients (Savikataaq)
I rise today to recognize three individuals from my community who have recently been awarded Kivalliq Inuit Association scholarships.
Mr. Speaker, as you will recall, I had the pleasure to stand before the House and congratulate Melinda Kaviok for receiving a Nunasi Scholarship just last week.
This week, I would like to congratulate:
Pauline Copland, who has been awarded the President’s Scholarship;
Maria Illungiayok, who has been awarded the Ukkusiksalik Scholarship; and
April Ollie, who has been awarded the Meadowbank Scholarship.
Mr. Speaker, these scholarships are awarded each year by the Kivalliq Inuit Association to beneficiaries in post-secondary programs who demonstrate academic excellence and a commitment to their studies.
Ms. Copland, Ms. Illungiayok, and Ms. Ollie are all enrolled in the third year of the Nunavut Teacher Education Program.
Mr. Speaker, I have no doubt that these women will succeed in their current academic endeavours and move on to professional careers that will serve and benefit the community of Arviat.
These individuals are important role models in my community, and I hope that their energy and efforts continue to inspire their fellow students and residents of Arviat.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask my colleagues to join me in applauding these women for their success.
Member’s Statement 070 – 4(3): Waste Drop and Swap (Hickes)
You may recall last week, I put out a notice about a paint drop and swap event scheduled here in Iqaluit.
I would just like to inform the listening audience and members here that the event has been rescheduled to occur this upcoming Saturday, October 31. As this event is being scheduled on Halloween Day, to celebrate, there will be a free BBQ and candy for those arriving in Halloween costumes.
Mr. Speaker, this event is being hosted by the City of Iqaluit to collect residences’ household hazardous waste, including paint, batteries, home electronics, and household chemical and cleaning supplies in an effort to divert these materials from their garbage.
Mr. Speaker, the paint drop and swap event offers the opportunity for residents to reuse paint through a free exchange. Residents who have paint can drop it off, and people who want paint can take it home.
Any remaining paint at the end of the event will be taken to the landfill for safe disposal.
I just wanted to inform everyone on the change of date and add a little bit of fun to the event to it with Halloween being the date of it being scheduled on. I’m looking forward to seeing some of the costumes that show up in that event.
Member’s Statement 071 – 4(3): Thankful for Caribou Meat from Greenland (Keyootak)
I rise today to express my gratitude and congratulations.
As we are aware, in the Baffin region, there was a caribou moratorium last spring.
Around Qikiqtarjuaq, there is no caribou population.
We have a fisheries ship, the Kiviuq, in Qikiqtaaluk and Qikiqtarjuaq are part of the co-owners of this vessel. It’s also the High Arctic vessel. My colleague yesterday made a Member’s Statement that these vessel owners brought caribou meat coming from Greenland because there is no caribou population near Qikiqtarjuaq and there was a moratorium at the time.
Last summer, they brought in caribou meat and each individual household in Qikiqtarjuaq was given caribou meat and they held a feast with the delicious-looking caribou meat coming all the way from Greenland.
On behalf of the people of Qikiqtarjuaq, I would like to thank the vessel owners for bringing the caribou meat to the community.
This was very successful and the community of Qikiqtarjuaq was very happy to get caribou meat coming from across the ocean.
I am very pleased and on behalf of the people of Qikiqtarjuaq, I say “thank you” to all of them.
The Hon. Member for Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet, Mr. Tom Sammurtok.
Member’s Statement 072 – 4(3): The Need for Dialysis Services in Nunavut (Sammurtok, T)
I say “good day” to the people of Chesterfield Inlet, Rankin Inlet, and Nunavut.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the need for dialysis services to be delivered in Nunavut so that Nunavut residents do not have to leave the territory to receive this life-saving medical care.
Mr. Speaker, (interpretation) there are many individuals in Nunavummiut who have to go for treatment. (interpretation ends) Dialysis is a medical process which purifies the blood when a person’s kidneys cannot do so naturally.
Currently, it appears that there are no machines in Nunavut which can provide this treatment and those medical clients who need dialysis simply in order to survive are required to travel away from their homes and stay away for extended periods of time.
When one factors in the cost of travel and accommodation as well as cost of medical care, accessing dialysis treatment at medical facilities outside of Nunavut results in considerable expense to our government.
The personal cost to patients is also considerable given the time they are required to spend away from their family, friends, and communities.
(interpretation) Mr. Speaker, I know that it’s very expensive to get dialysis and we need trained staff to work in Nunavut if there was to be a dialysis machine. (interpretation ends) However, the Government of Nunavut has made significant investments in recent years to build three regional medical centres.
In addition, the Department of Health’s business plan clearly states that we need to recruit and train Nunavummiut for health careers within the territory.
Mr. Speaker, I feel that it is important to invest in our own health care and work towards providing dialysis services in Nunavut, not just for those individuals who are receiving medical care closer to home but for the future health and well-being of our territory overall.
At the appropriate time, I will be asking questions in this regard.
Member’s Statement 073 – 4(3): Happy Birthday to Granddaughter (Enook)
I want to say “happy birthday” to my grandchild, Kara Grace Taannagulu Ootoova. Have a wonderful birthday today. You’re now six years old.
Tell your mother and father that your grandfather and grandmother said that you are allowed to have anything you want today.
Have a good birthday today, Taannagulu.
Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I’m sure some people are wondering who all the people are in the gallery.
For your information, I would like to welcome, for the very first time, everyone in the gallery.
We have 25 students from the south and 25 from the north, and they’re called Global Vision. They are going to be having a meeting called the Arctic Youth Ambassador Caucus.
There are quite a lot of them here and I do have the names, but I would like to welcome everybody to the House.
At the meeting, they are going to be covering various topics, such as education, healthy foods, and climate change.
Those are some of the items that are going to be covered.
(interpretation ends) Very briefly, Mr. Speaker, I would just like to welcome all our youth from across Canada to our House here.
Global Vision is a national not-for-profit founded by Terry Clifford, who was an educator and a former Member of Parliament.
Twenty-five youth leaders from the south and 25 youth leaders from the north are coming together for the first time ever.
The Arctic Youth Ambassador Caucus is where they will be discussing issues, such as education, food security, and climate change.
These young leaders are committed to creating positive change while working collaboratively to make a difference in their communities.
Let us welcome this whole great group and the instructors. (interpretation) Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much for coming to our proceedings.
Question 086 – 4(3): Inclusive Education Review (Angnakak)
Mr. Speaker, as the minister will recall, in March, he indicated that a review of inclusive education was underway, although he could not, at the time, tell us when the review would be completed.
Mr. Speaker, can the minister provide an update on the status of his department’s inclusive education review and tell us when we can expect to see the results tabled in the House?
Hon. Paul Quassa (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also thank the member for that very important question.
Let us remember that it’s well underway and it will be completed very soon.
I can’t give you the date, but I’m looking forward to seeing the final report.
I’m just waiting for the report for my review and then afterwards, I’ll be tabling it in the House.
We look forward to seeing that tabled in the House.
Mr. Speaker, education is a priority of this government. With our territory historically facing low attendance rates and abysmal graduation rates, many students drop out because they face challenges due to learning disabilities.
Can the minister inform this House whether his department’s review of inclusive education has tracked the number of assessments conducted by professionals to determine learning disabilities of Nunavut’s students and, if not, why not?
Hon. Paul Quassa (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also thank the member for that question.
We have looked at the numbers and we have seen what was going to be reviewed.
Inclusive education is very important to our department and to date, we will have it proceed.
Ms. Angnakak: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) I’m sure we will be given an update pretty soon.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, the number of Nunavut students who are in individual student support plans probably make up a significant percentage of our student population. Given the obvious need for specialized service providers, such as educational psychologists, to diagnose learning disabilities and to provide recommendations for adjustments and supports which can help students succeed, has the department considered hiring such specialists full time and, if so, how many such specialists are currently on staff?
We are going to be putting together a business case and if there’s a need to get additional specialists or support staff, then we will be submitting our request for additional resources.
We want to implement the recommendations and I can say that in March 2015, we were almost completing the inclusive education review.
We consulted the parents of the students and the staff in each of the regions.
Again, the recommendations will be implemented and it will be up to the Department of Education on whether there will be a need to amend the Acts or legislation and policy.
We’re going to be working towards that.
We’re going to proceed with this and we will try and implement the recommendations. As I indicated earlier, because of its importance, we are going to be developing a business case.
Question 087 – 4(3): Inuit Training and Employment Initiatives (Shooyook)
I continue to receive concerns from constituents in the High Arctic regarding Inuit employment in the government.
Last week, the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated jointly announced the establishment of the Nunavut Inuit Training Corporation.
Can the Premier indicate what the annual budget for the Nunavut Inuit Training Corporation will be?
I thank the Member for Quttiktuq for that question. (interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, at this time, we haven’t had our inaugural board meeting as of yet. The names of the board members were given to the public through a news release, but at this time, we haven’t had our board meeting to determine what type of budget we’re going to have on an annual basis.
Mr. Shooyook (interpretation): Can the Premier indicate how many staff the Nunavut Inuit Training Corporation will have?
Speaker (interpretation): Premier of Nunavut, Mr. Taptuna.
Well, we haven’t had our meeting yet in terms of how many employees we would have for the Inuit Training Corporation.
Minister Quassa will also be involved and there will be five members from the community and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.
(interpretation ends) At this point, we haven’t had our inaugural board meeting. There is no determination on the number of staff for the corporation at this point.
Once the budget is established, we look forward to moving the training programs forward on behalf of Nunavummiut and beneficiaries.
Once that is established, we will surely indicate to this House and the public of our plans moving forward.
Mr. Shooyook (interpretation): I would like to thank the Premier for his response.
Can the Premier indicate how the Nunavut Inuit Training Corporation will coordinate its training programs with those offered by such existing organizations as Nunavut Arctic College?
Hon. Peter Taptuna (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) As I have indicated, we’re looking at how we’re going to come out with the strategy on beneficiary training, and we intend to do it the right way. We’re going to be working with NTI very closely on how to best deliver training programs for the beneficiaries of Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, we surely want to increase the employment within the three levels: Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, of course, the Government of Nunavut, and the federal government. The federal government is going to be our partner on this.
At this point, there’s work being done by our officials.
We have worked out the details of the terms of reference.
At this point, once we have a plan moving forward, again, we will be able to share with the public and the people of Nunavut.
Oral Questions. (interpretation ends) Hon. Member for Iqaluit-Tasiluk, Mr. Hickes.
Question 088 – 4(3): EU Seal Ban Exemption (Hickes)
I was going over a Minister’s Statement provided to the House by the Minister of Environment a couple of days ago talking about the EU seal hunting ban exemption. In that Minister’s Statement, the minister stated that the Government of Nunavut will be able to certify that sealskins were harvested according to the rules of the exemption, and this will allow Nunavut harvesters to once again sell their sealskins and sealskin products in the European market.
My first question, Mr. Speaker: how is that certification process going to be tracked and how is it going to be done? What type of certification [will there be] to distinguish our sealskins from other sealskins?
This has been a very challenging issue to try and correct, and we want to make sure that we use our new rights properly along with certification. I would like to especially say that we have no choice but to work closely with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
There are different laws that apply to it and to certify them in Nunavut, we have to follow the regulations properly.
We will be working with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to make sure this proceeds well.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) Your first supplementary, Mr. Hickes.
What I’m trying to get at is: how are our sealskins going to be distinguished from other sealskins that are harvested around the world under different conditions from traditional hunting methods? Is there going to be a serial number?
Is there going to be some type of a stamp? That’s what I’m looking for. What is going to distinguish our sealskins to allow for them to be certified under this exemption?
I understand the question from my colleague. We have to keep careful track of what we’re going to be doing.
It’s called a fur tracking system and we will be using that with the new permissions that we will have. It’s going to be a barcode. That is what has been said so far.
I guess that leads to my next question. When these sealskin products and sealskins are certified under this exemption, what is the source? Is it going to be the source of the pelt or is it going to be the source of the labour?
A number of craftspeople that I know don’t always know where the source of the sealskin came from, but those crafts are produced here in Nunavut by many of our great artisans across the territory.
Is this exemption just going to be for the pelt itself or is it going to be as a result of labour produced in Nunavut as well?
As I stated, we have to work closely with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on this matter and we have to do it correctly.
As to how it will work, we’re not quite sure yet, but once I have that information, I’ll be able to divulge it to you.
Once I have that information, I will be presenting it in the House.
Question 089 – 4(3): Cancellation of CARS Agreement with NAV CANADA (Sammurtok)
On March 4, 2015, I asked the minister questions about the government’s decision to end its agreement with NAV CANADA for the administration of community aerodrome radio station services.
One of the impacts of this decision was the cancellation of the observer/communicator training course that had been offered at the Kivalliq Campus of Nunavut Arctic College.
Seven months ago, the minister informed the House that her department would be, and I quote, “looking at ways to offer that training in Rankin Inlet.”
What has been done since I first raised this issue?
Minister of Economic Development and Transportation, Ms. Monica Ell-Kanayuk.
We have to work with other government departments on this. I’ll have to take this as notice and get back to the member at a later date.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) The [minister] has taken it as notice.
I shall move on to the next member.
Question 090 – 4(3): Feasibility of a University in Nunavut (Savikataaq)
Mr. Speaker, the media has recently reported that the Department of Education has issued a $246,000 contract for a feasibility study for a Nunavut-based university.
The department’s assistant deputy minister was quoted as saying that this is going to be a “big project.”
In reviewing the department’s business plan for 2015-18 as well as the 2015-18 business plan for Nunavut Arctic College, I could not find any mention of plans to establish a new university in Nunavut.
Can the minister clarify what is the exact purpose of this feasibility study and where the money for this contract is coming from?
I thank my colleague for that question. This is an important issue as well.
In May 2015, the budget was approved to do a feasibility study for the Nunavut-based university. (interpretation ends) The request for proposals was issued with a closing date of October 2, 2015. Certainly, the work will be beginning in the first week of November.