EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
(interpretation ends) This exciting development is expected to result in increased marine traffic, and I will have questions for the Minister of CG&S at the appropriate time concerning the importance of ensuring that the community’s fuel storage facilities are adequate to support the new harbour.
Member’s Statement 571 – 3(3): Successful Bowhead Hunt in Gjoa Haven (Ugyuk)
I was talking with Tucktoo and David Igutsaq this morning on the telephone. I say “good morning” to them.
Just a few days ago, I stated that the people of Gjoa Haven were bowhead whale hunting in the Gulf of Boothia.
I am very proud of the hunters who portaged and went to the Gulf of Boothia. They went through rivers and portaged to reach the sea and also went through rapids.
They had to unload and reload their boats during the portaging, but they were able to get a whale that is 30 feet long, which was a good size for them.
The people who hunted were mostly young people.
They are starting to go back to Taloyoak and will probably reach it by night.
I send my congratulations to the bowhead whale hunters, Mr. Speaker.
Member’s Statement 572 – 3(3): Environmental Protection Challenges in Nunavut (Elliott)
I rise today to address the issue of environmental protection in Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, as you will be aware, the United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed today, September 16, as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.
This date was chosen to commemorate the date of the signing in 1987 of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Mr. Speaker, although significant progress has been made over the past quarter-century to reduce the emissions of ozone-depleting substances, much work remains to be done.
Mr. Speaker, it is often said that major changes to the environment are felt first in the Arctic.
Global warming, ozone depletion, and the prevalence of persistent organic pollutants in the arctic food web are examples of the challenges that we face in protecting the health of our people and our environment.
Mr. Speaker, at the same time that we are facing environmental challenges, we are also working to address economic challenges.  Mr. Speaker, large-scale natural resources development has been identified as a major driver of economic growth for Nunavut.
It has been identified as a major source of future employment opportunities for our constituents.
Mr. Speaker, during the life of this Legislative Assembly, we have witnessed impressive progress in the area of resource development. The Mary River project in North Baffin and gold mining in the Kivalliq are two important examples.
Mr. Speaker, at the same time, we must not lose sight of the need to ensure that economic development does not come at the cost of the health of our land, air, and water.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, the community of Grise Fiord has expressed significant concerns regarding the prospect of coal mining in the High Arctic. I have stood firmly with my constituents on this matter.
Mr. Speaker, another area of economic potential is the field of oil and gas development. The Government of Nunavut’s mineral exploration and mining strategy indicates that Nunavut has “up to 15 per cent of Canada’s total petroleum reserves.”
Last week, the National Energy Board of Canada released new requirements for inspecting hydraulic fracking operations in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
This is an important step forward in addressing a technology that has proven to be highly contentious. I will have questions for the government at the appropriate time on this issue.
Member’s Statement 573 – 3(3): Lack of Monitoring in Nunavut Waters (Ningeongan)
I rise today to bring attention to the concerns my community of Coral Harbour has regarding the possible negative effects that the shipping vessels travelling near Coats Island and Southampton Island could be having on the health and migration routes of marine mammals.
Mr. Speaker, a majority of my constituents depend on these marine mammals for food, clothing, and a source of income. As a result, the health and well-being of my constituents depends on the health of these marine mammals and Nunavut waters.
Mr. Speaker, while we appreciate the efforts being done by the Department of Economic Development and Transportation to increase tourism and understand various shipping vessels will travel near Southampton and Coats Island, a major concern is the lack of monitoring during the shipping season and who is responsible for ensuring all vessels are following set guidelines and regulations while travelling through Nunavut waters.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage our government to work with federal agencies on safeguarding the health of our Nunavut waters and, in turn, all Nunavummiut.
Member’s Statement 574 – 3(3): Inuit Involvement in a Public Government (Ningark)
Today, I want to talk briefly about the extent of Inuit representation in the public government of Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, I think we all recognize that this government is the principle employer up here. I think we also understood the objective of Article 23. We are to match the proportion of Inuit in this government.
I know that we have to give credit when the credit is due, and I would like to give credit to this government in the administration area, where many people are employed.
What about the executive, the management, and the professionals? Where are we today?
At the appropriate time today, I will be asking the Minister of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs about the statistical facts under Article 23.
Item 3. Oral Questions.
Member for Rankin Inlet North, Mr. Curley. Members’ Statements.
Member’s Statement 575 – 3(3): Kivalliq Mine Training Programs (Curley)
Mr. Curley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) Thank you.
I would like to see whether or not my comments have been read by some of the ministers.
That’s okay. (interpretation ends) That’s good.
(interpretation) Training has been done for over 60 years with respect to mining and the people who took the training are some of my relatives. I would like to say that Ms. Ell’s father took a heavy equipment operator course in Leduc, Alberta when he was very young. It has been over 60 years.
From there, there are numerous other heavy equipment training courses that were done. Those people were used by the mining companies to operate heavy equipment.
Over 50 years ago, I was involved in the training in Chilliwack, BC. We came from Nunavut and the NWT. We also trained with the Sergeant-at-Arms.
However, I could say that the people who take mine training from Nunavut still train in southern institutions.
They keep saying that mine training is very good for the people of Nunavut.
I wonder why those training equipment and training are not set in Nunavut.
I think we have to strengthen training here in Nunavut.
We will find out later on when that kind of training can be given here in Nunavut.
Member’s Statement 576 – 3(3): New Executive Director of Nunavut Association of Municipalities (Ell)
Hon. Monica Ell (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) First of all, I would like to say “good afternoon” to my constituents in Iqaluit West.
Congratulations are in order to one of my constituents, Madeleine d’Argencourt. Madeleine was recently hired as the new executive director for the Nunavut Association of Municipalities.
Madeleine has a diverse background spanning from 20 years, whether it was working in government at all levels or serving one of the many boards that we’re privileged to have her input.
I have every confidence that she will be a great asset to the municipalities across Nunavut.
While I have known Madeleine since she was young, I first came to really know her three years ago while I worked for the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and Madeleine was on the board.
I knew at the time that she is a capable person with a passion about her work.
Mr. Speaker, the Nunavut Association of Municipalities will hold its annual general meeting here in Iqaluit next month. I look forward to hearing about that meeting working with the mayors to move their issues forward.
Mr. Speaker, please join me in wishing Madeleine d’Argencourt well in her new role with the Nunavut Association of Municipalities and in wishing them a productive and successful AGM.
Member’s Statement 577 – 3(3): Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre (Peterson)
I rise today to pay tribute to the Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre.
Mr. Speaker, over the decades, the wellness centre has established itself as a vital facility in our community and its staff is providing valuable programs and services to the people of Cambridge Bay.
Supporting individuals and families are at the core of their operations.
Mr. Speaker, this summer, I had an opportunity on several occasions to participate in events that the wellness centre organized and coordinated for the community.
Mr. Speaker, it was a real pleasure to attend events, such as Family Dinner or Movie Nights, where elders, parents, and kids came together to enjoy home-cooked dinners prepared by the staff. The Movie Nights, complete with popcorn, reminded me of the days before we had television or videos when we would get together as kids at our old community hall to watch movies.
Mr. Speaker, it is encouraging to see the wellness centre organize outdoor events for the elders and youth. The hamlet council recently moved the elders’ cabin from across the bay by the old town site to a location overlooking the bridge, which makes it easier for the elders’ van driver to take them out for tea and get-togethers.
Mr. Speaker, a special event was held this summer near the mouth of the river with the community and float plane base in the distance. The wellness centre staff designed and commissioned a residential school monument that was unveiled to recognize all the children and families who were affected by residential schools. It was a very emotional occasion for many who attended.
Mr. Speaker, we are very fortunate in Cambridge Bay to have caring and compassionate staff at the wellness centre who help people with counselling for alcohol and addictions issues, family planning, anger management, and residential school trauma, just to name a few of the things they do.
They also operate a food bank with support from community donations to help many individuals and families who require food.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to join me in wishing the Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre staff well in their ongoing efforts to make our community a better place to live. A community that cares for families, friends, and neighbours is a good place to live.
Member’s Statement 578 – 3(3): Congratulations to Thomas Anguti Johnston (Aariak)
I rise today to recognize from my constituency a person who was elected recently by the youth council as the president that was elected in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik.
Mr. Speaker, the individual has accomplished quite a bit, although he is very young and very impressive.
Thomas Anguti Johnson will not just represent the young people, but he will also be working at his full-time job at the Qikiqtani Inuit Association while he is the president of the council.
On top of that, he will be in a drama that is shown, the Inuk Qablunaaq program on APTN, which is liked by all the young people.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, after being chosen as the new NIYC, which is the National Inuit Youth Council President, Anguti’s first job was to fly to Rankin Inlet to sit amongst the president and board of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami for the first ever Inuit Leaders Summit with the Prime Minister of Canada and his cabinet members.
Among the issues discussed were economic development and training skills, very important issues as we move forward to meet the needs of our young people, who make up a clear majority of our population.
Mr. Speaker, I was also in Rankin Inlet at the time and I was proud to see Anguti as one of the leaders at the table.
Mr. Speaker, some of our MLAs may not realize this, but Anguti was one of our youth members as a representative for our children and youth… .
Speaker: I’m sorry, Madam Aariak.
Hon. Eva Aariak (interpretation): I’m sorry, Mr. Speaker.
I also thank my colleagues for giving me the opportunity to conclude my statement.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, some of our MLAs might not realize this, but Anguti was one of the youth members on the Representative for Children and Youth Advisory Committee that helped develop the groundbreaking legislation that we will be considering this session.
With all of this experience, perhaps some day, Anguti will join us right here at this table in our Assembly.
Congratulations to Anguti. I wish you all the best in your endeavours.
Return to Oral Question 742 – 3(3): $100 Million Geo-mapping Project (Arreak)
This oral question was asked by Mr. Ron Elliott, MLA for Quttiktuq, No. 742 – 3(3), on September 12, 2013.
There are no exemptions to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement-mandated environmental assessment process for these geo-mapping projects. These projects will go through the same screening process that any other scientific research project in Nunavut does.
This includes both applying for a research permit from the Nunavut Research Institute as well as being screened by the Nunavut Impact Review Board.
Depending on the details of the specific project, further authorizations and permits may also be required.
I would like to recognize a constituent of mine, Madeleine d’Argencourt, whom I was talking about earlier.
Question 754 – 3(3): Status of Sanikiluaq School Repairs (Rumbolt)
Mr. Speaker, as the minister may be aware, work has finally begun to replace the boilers and other maintenance work at Nuiyak School in Sanikiluaq.
I cannot understand why his department has planned these repairs to take place when the school year has just begun.
Can the minister provide an update on the plans for the repairs at Nuiyak School and explain why the work is just beginning now when the boilers and other materials have been in the community for at least a year?
I welcome my colleague back to the Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, the material that my colleague talks about, unfortunately, was shipped to Qikiqtarjuaq not by the fault of the government, but of the shipper.
That material has finally reached the destination community of Sanikiluaq. Since the start of this month, they have been working on installing and ensuring that the boiler system is, indeed, working properly.
Can the minister clearly indicate when this contract is due to be completed and explain why the contract was not issued earlier? I guess he answered part of that question by telling me about the shipping issues, but can he explain when this contract will be completed?
Unfortunately, the materials were sent to the wrong community.
Again, it wasn’t our department that did that, thank goodness.
As for when it’s going to be completed, actually, today is the day that we should be finding out if there are any deficiencies. After today, we will have a better idea of whether the repairs and replacements were adequate.
If they were or were not, I’ll follow up with a letter to my colleague to ensure he is fully briefed on it.
It is my understanding that the representatives from the Department of Community and Government Services have collected a list of maintenance issues at both schools and also chartered into the community a number of times to assess what work needed to be done.
Some maintenance items at the school have been on the to-do list for at least five years.
Can the minister clearly explain why no work was completed this summer when his department was fully aware of what work needed to be done at the schools in Sanikiluaq?
As he outlined, there are a number of issues. Unfortunately, there are ongoing issues with the school in Sanikiluaq.
In terms of where we are on the work orders on many of those issues, I will give him a detailed response by letter so that he knows where we are on some of the deficiencies that he speaks of.
Question 755 – 3(3): Designation of Pond Inlet as a Hub Airport (Enook)
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Nunavut’s transportation strategy, which the minister tabled in the House on June 5, 2009, officially recognizes three “hub airports” in the territory: Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Cambridge Bay.
As the minister is aware, I have been a strong proponent of designating Pond Inlet as our fourth hub airport.
Pond Inlet is located within an hour’s flying time of half-dozen other communities, and its proximity to the Mary River project makes it the right strategic choice for being designated as North Baffin’s hub airport.
In light of the recent signing of the Mary River project’s Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement, my question for the minister is: what is the government’s current position on designating Pond Inlet as Nunavut’s official hub airport for North Baffin?
Mr. Speaker, I believe I responded to that question a year and a half ago.
Mr. Speaker, it’s not the government that designates communities as whether it’s going to become an airline hub or not.
Everything depends on economic activity of the community. If it warrants that a community becomes a hub, it’s up to the airlines and it’s up to industry. Again, that depends on the economic activity that takes place within the communities.
The government is not responsible for designating communities as airline hubs.
Again, everything is dependent on the economic activity of the community.
I’m not really clear about the minister’s response, but one of official priorities in the Government of Nunavut’s transportation strategy is to “Expand Nunavut’s principal hub airports.” However, the minister doesn’t seem to be saying that. As I was saying, one of the official priorities in the Government of Nunavut’s transportation strategy is to “Expand Nunavut’s principal hub airports.”
Mr. Speaker, given that the Mary River project is now moving forward, it is essential that we act now to expand capacity and modernize facilities at the Pond Inlet Airport in order to accommodate the large-scale industrial development that will be taking place in the North Baffin.
Will the minister commit to reviewing the status of Pond Inlet’s airport and facilities?
I can’t commit towards a review that the hon. member has mentioned.
Mr. Speaker, we work closely with industry and we understand fully that there are consultations taking place with the mining company there.
We don’t have any facts unto the regards of where they’re going to be basing their operations out of.
As far as we understand, they intend to fly out and fly in using their own infrastructure at the mine site.
Even though that is the case, I have a feeling that we can have the opportunity to work together with the mining companies. As the people of Nunavut, we can help each other to do that.
My last question is (interpretation ends) the Government of Nunavut’s transportation strategy also indicates that “Airport Master Plans” are needed for all of the territory’s hub airports.
Can the minister indicate whether he would be willing to commit to developing a formal airport master plan for Pond Inlet?
Mr. Speaker, the Transportation Division is constantly looking at ways to improve the infrastructure that we do have in our smaller communities.
Mr. Speaker, when we talk about master plans, they’re ongoing. It’s work in progress. According to the transportation strategy that the government has, we did carry out our obligations of making sure that the three regional hub airports were looked after, but we continue to evaluate and look at some of these things that are happening within these small communities.
Mr. Speaker, I want to make sure that I want the member to know for a fact that we do look at some of these projects that are taking place, mining projects that are taking place close to his community, and we try and come up with some of plan that may alleviate some lack of infrastructure regarding airstrips.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, the only transportation in and out of the communities is through our airports.
Question 756 – 3(3): Bulk Fuel Storage Capacity in Pangnirtung (Oshutapik)
As I noted in my Member’s Statement today, Pangnirtung’s new harbour is nearing completion.
Can the minister indicate how his department has been working to ensure that the community’s bulk fuel storage facilities have adequate capacity to meet the expected increase in marine traffic in Pangnirtung?
We tried to increase the bulk storage facilities in Pangnirtung. The ship came early and put in fuel in the tanks.
The people who purchased fuel oil do some measuring of how much there is in those bulk fuel storage facilities. We feel that there is adequate storage space for fuel storage in Pangnirtung for the winter.
I believe he has responded to the next question I was going to ask.
(interpretation ends) As As the minister is aware, the Department of Economic Development and Transportation has been working on a major project to relocate Pangnirtung’s airport to a different location.
Can the minister indicate how his department is cooperating with ED&T with respect to the issue of how the community’s bulk fuel storage facilities will service the new airport?
It is evident that once we start dealing with capital estimates, whether it be small craft harbours or ports, depending upon what work is being done, the government and the communities work together to make sure that the work is being done as best as possible.
Once they have to figure out how much fuel is required in Pangnirtung with the new airstrip, I’m sure that Community and Government Services and ED&T officials will be working together to discuss this.
Question 757 – 3(3): Hydraulic Fracturing in Nunavut (Elliott)
The department’s mineral exploration and mining strategy indicates that Nunavut has “up to 15 per cent of Canada’s total petroleum reserves.”
Last week, the National Energy Board of Canada released new requirements respecting hydraulic fracturing operations in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
The National Energy Board stated that its regulatory actions concerning hydraulic fracturing took into account the input of territorial government departments.
Can the minister indicate what input the Government of Nunavut provided to the National Energy Board concerning the issue of hydraulic fracturing?
Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Elliott. Minister responsible for Economic Development and Transportation, Minister Taptuna.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t have that information in front of me.
All the Nunavut Impact Review Board’s comments and issues are put on the website for the public to look at, observe, and comment on.
Mr. Speaker, the first well observed in Nunavut was 51 years ago and the last well drilled was 27 years ago. I know that they’re still drilling in the NWT, but there haven’t any wells drilled for 27 years in Nunavut.
Once I get the information on what the Government of Nunavut’s comments are on fracking, I will relay that and pass it on to the Hon. Member of Quttiktuq.
As the minister is aware, there is tremendous potential for oil and gas development in the High Arctic.
Can the minister indicate the extent to which exploration companies are looking at hydraulic fracturing for projects in the High Arctic?
Mr. Speaker, hydraulic fracking has been around for a long time. They have been doing that in British Columbia for over 40 years without any environmental issues having arisen over the years of hydraulic fracking in BC, about the same number of years that fracking has been taking place in Alberta and other provinces.
Mr. Speaker, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada put out a call for nominations recently.
At this point, from what I understand, there has been no response to the call for nominations for the five known locations that were put out there.
Mr. Speaker, I have very little information on hydraulic fracking. There is very little exploration activity.
As I said, Mr. Speaker, we haven’t drilled a well for over 27 years. The first step in doing some exploratory drilling is, of course, seismic testing.
Will the minister commit to tabling copies of any formal submissions or input that the Government of Nunavut has provided to the National Energy Board concerning the issue of hydraulic fracturing?
I’ll consult with my officials about that.