EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Mr. Speaker, the Senate committee’s visit to Sanikiluaq took place on April 21.
Along with Mayor Elijassie Sala and representatives from the local housing organization, I had the opportunity to meet with the Senate committee to discuss the many challenges that we face in Nunavut with respect to housing.
Mr. Speaker, as part of its visit to Sanikiluaq, the committee toured the community and had a first-hand exposure to the housing conditions in which residents live.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and acknowledge the chair of the committee as well as the deputy chair of the committee, Dennis Patterson, our own Nunavut Senator, for spearheading this important work, and I very much look forward to the committee making its recommendations to the federal government later this year.
Mr. Speaker, it is essential that as many federal parliamentarians as possible have the opportunity to experience first hand the housing challenges in the north.
I was pleased to see that the members of the Senate committee clearly recognized and acknowledged the magnitude of the investments that will be required to significantly increase the housing stock in Nunavut, reduce overcrowding, and address such issues as mould infestation.
Mr. Speaker, officials from the Nunavut Housing Corporation testified before the Senate committee on March 23 of this year, shortly after the adjournment of our winter sitting.
For the benefit of all Members of the Legislative Assembly, I encourage the minister to table a copy of the Nunavut Housing Corporation’s presentation in this House before the end of our current spring sitting.
Member’s Statement 234 – 4(3): Congratulations to Grandson Terrence Taparti (Mapsalak)
I rise today to state how proud I am of one of my grandchildren.
First of all, good afternoon to the people of Repulse Bay and Coral Harbour, members, and Nunavummiut.
Mr. Speaker, I have a grandson who is 16 years of age now and he usually travels out with junior cadets and takes part during their travels.
Mr. Speaker, the reason why I’m so proud is the fact that last winter 14 cadets were selected in Canada to take part in Winnipeg. As it turned out, my grandchild was the only individual from Nunavut to be selected for the competition for the cadets in the south.
While he was down at the competition, my grandson named Terrence Taparti placed in the top ranks of the competitors.
Due to this fact, since my grandson was one of the best competitors, the 14 cadets who partook ended up with seven cadets being chosen for this competition. This was related to parachuting, I believe, that will occur in July.
Since my grandson was one of the chosen cadets and he placed in the top ranks and as the only competitor from Nunavut, I wanted to express my pride in his accomplishments and to share my happiness in his ability and willingness to learn.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues and Nunavummiut to congratulate my grandson for being one of the winners at the competition. This also means that my grandson will be able to undertake activities that he takes joy in and this will occur in July.
Member’s Statement 235 – 4(3): Kimmirut Kamik-making (Joanasie)
Mr. Joanasie (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and welcome back.
I send my regards to all those who are listening to the proceedings.
Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise today to share my pride in the great success of the kamik-making project, which took place in Kimmirut this past winter.
In the fall of 2015, six lucky women were selected to take part in the five-month kamik-making program.
Mr. Speaker, five months of kamik-making takes a lot of dedication and commitment, yet it was a goal achieved by those six Kimmirut ladies, each of whom completed their very own pair of sealskin kamiik.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to formally congratulate each of the participants:
Lysee Itulu;
Levena Utye;
Oleepeeka Padluq;
Kayla Nutarasungnik;
Padluk Judea; and
Ningeorapik Kolola.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to give thanks to the two elder instructors, Jeannie Padluq and Annie Ikkidluak, for providing instructions and guidance to the women who participated in this project.
Mr. Speaker, I would finally like to acknowledge and thank Monica Gardner for coordinating this project, the [Ilisaqsivik] Society in Clyde River for providing materials, and the Department of Culture and Heritage for funding this project. I would like to thank each and every one of them.
I also would like to see similar projects taking place in the future.
Member’s Statement 236 – 4(3): Support Rankin Inlet’s Elders (Sammurtok, A)
Mr. Alexander Sammurtok (interpretation): Good day, my fellow residents of Rankin Inlet and Nunavummiut.
I continue to rise in this House to address the needs and rights of Rankin Inlet’s elders to receive adequate and appropriate care in their home community, close to their families and loved ones.
Mr. Speaker, I do recognize that our government faces many conflicting demands for space, services, funding, and resources. I also recognize that many jurisdictions across Canada face similar capacity issues when it comes to ensuring that the long-term care needs of residents are provided for.
However, I remain committed to lobbying for local residential long-term care for Rankin Inlet’s elders within the community of Rankin Inlet.
A significant number of Rankin Inlet residents have already been sent away from home to receive care. They miss their home and their families miss them.
A further ten to twelve individuals are approaching the stage where their families will no longer be able to provide the level of care they need.
Mr. Speaker, with over twenty Rankin Inlet elders requiring residential [long-term] care in the very near future, the economic, practical, and compassionate step would be to ensure that such care is available in the community of Rankin Inlet.
I once again strongly urge the government to give more priority to considering the feasibility of opening a residential long-term care facility in the community of Rankin Inlet as soon as possible.
Member’s Statement 237 – 4(3): Wishing a Happy Spring to Nunavut Residents (Taptuna)
Springtime is good weather usually in most places, 24-hour sunlight in some parts of Nunavut, enjoying our beautiful land.
When springtime arrives, we enjoy our beautiful land and spending time with our families and neighbours.
Mr. Speaker, coming from the most western community in Nunavut, which is three time zones away, our traditions are much like many other communities throughout Nunavut.
When I was growing up, we travelled by dog team. Travelling in springtime by dog team was exciting but a lot of hard work. When the ice was deteriorating, (interpretation) leads and shore cracks (interpretation ends) were ever-present.
Mr. Speaker, riding on a qamutik meant that you were always getting wet.
Mr. Speaker, today, travels to your tent or cabin by snowmobile in the springtime is faster and much more comfortable.
Mr. Speaker, in some communities, folks can go to their spring camp on a four-wheeler or even by truck.
Many things have changed from when I was young, by travelling by dog team, but one thing hasn’t changed throughout all these years.
Mr. Speaker, the one thing that has not changed is our love for our outdoors, our love for the springtime, and our love for our traditions and our culture with the new season of spring coming on.
Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to wish all Nunavummiut, the members and staff of this House a very safe spring season right across our beautiful land of Nunavut.
Member’s Statement 238 – 4(3): Successful Polar Bear Hunts (Mike)
I, too, wish to speak about celebrations our communities hold, especially when young men caught their first polar bear, including young people and even small children who would shoot the animal.
Now, in my own nuclear family, I have grandchildren who are included in the group of youth who harvested their first polar bear. My male grandchildren range from the youngest of about 8 years old to the oldest being 18 years of age.
I take care of one of my grandsons and he is now 14 years old. Most of the siblings have caught their own polar bears and I wanted to voice my pleasure in his accomplishment.
Based on my own experiences when I shot my first caribou, my father and I were hunting via dog team around this time of year when caribou are calving. My father allowed me to shoot a caribou from the dog team.
I have never forgotten that experience and due to that reason, my grandchildren are a focal source of pride to me, along with other young people throughout Nunavut who have harvested their first animal.
It is a very important cultural practice to have youth harvest their first animals and hunting in general. This is still part of our lifestyle.
Due to that reason, I take tremendous pride when youth are able to harvest their first catch. I include all youth in Nunavut who have done so, particularly this grandson whom I call “the grandson.”
He harvested a polar bear before his oldest brother.
His older brother’s name was drawn for a polar bear tag. When I informed him that his older brother’s name had been drawn, he just stated, “I have already caught a polar bear,” and that was his only response.
I wanted to express my happiness over this practice as we still utilize it up here.
I extend my congratulations to all youth who harvested their first animal.
Member’s Statement 239 – 4(3): Appreciation for Support Provided During Medical Leave (Kuksuk)
I wish Nunavummiut a good day again, actually a good afternoon, including my colleagues.
Mr. Speaker, I want to start with the reason for rising today. I wish to voice my appreciation to my colleague and fellow ministerial member and extend my thanks to Minister Mike, who assumed my role while I was away this winter.
He was appointed to my role while I was absent and he assumed many responsibilities for which I greatly thank him for, including his officials and staff, as this was a rather heavy responsibility that he was able to undertake.
Mr. Speaker, I extend my gratitude for his assistance along with his officials.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my hard-working staff and the department staff.
It is through their efforts as well that I will be able to proudly update my colleagues in this session on the initiatives that my department is undertaking.
In closing, I am expressing my heartfelt gratitude to my other colleagues, (interpretation) to members present here, and particularly my constituents of Whale Cove and Arviat. This includes all Nunavummiut who kept me in their thoughts and (interpretation ends) for their well-wishes and support during my time away for medical reasons.
Mr. Speaker, today, I am very happy to return to work and look forward to a productive spring session.
Member’s Statement 240 – 4(3): Cabinet Meeting in Constituency (Keyootak)
I rise today to express my gratitude and to voice my appreciation to those who partook.
This spring, the Executive Council travelled to my constituency community of Clyde River to hold meetings. I wish to extend my appreciation to all members, especially to our Premier.
We received a tremendous welcome in Clyde River and the ministers were welcomed into the community for their meetings. I am proud that the cabinet selected Clyde River to hold their meetings and this applies to all ministers who were at the meeting.
Nonetheless, I wanted to clarify this one point. It was unfortunate that we could not complete our work prior to leaving the community.
The Executive Council did not complete their work while meeting in the community.
I think we are all aware that residents of our communities are usually quite ecstatic to greet visitors to their communities, especially leaders of various organizations, and they welcome the visitors. Many residents want to meet the leaders, as they are proud of their visitation to their community.
Now, we dealt with an unfortunate situation with the weather, as the forecast stated inclement weather would arrive the next day, and it led to a hasty conclusion of the meeting. They didn’t complete their meetings in the community, although the community was informed about the number of days they would stay.
However, it was unfortunate that the community was informed of the length of the stay, but the group left early. As some residents regret early departures, it would be preferable not to have this happen when leaders travel to communities to meet, especially our government representatives here in Nunavut. They should complete their agenda prior to departing the community.
We cannot control the weather. We heard later that the weather improved shortly after. This was continually brought up.
As hunters, most men tend to wait for weather to improve prior to departure. In my opinion, our leaders should also adopt this practice of awaiting weather to improve since we cannot control the weather.
They should wait for the weather to improve prior to departing the community. That would have happened in the community.
The end result was they only met for one day.
On behalf of my constituency community of Clyde River, I voice their regrets, as I know they would have preferred the visitors to stay a bit longer.
Member’s Statement 241 – 4(3): Happy Birthday to Jack Hanniliaq (Quassa)
Now, when birthdays crop up or other events that are a source of pride, members tend to voice their well-wishes to their constituents.
I rise today to express my thoughts on this person living in Igloolik. Although he moved there from another area, he has spent many years in Igloolik and his name is Miqquirniq, Jack Hanniliaq, who is celebrating a birthday today. He is originally from the Kitikmeot region from (interpretation ends) Contwoyto Lake, (interpretation) which is called Tasirjuaq in their dialect, if I am not mistaken.
He was born in that area.
I believe that around the 1950s or ‘60s, many Inuit moved from those areas to work at the DEW line sites. This man moved to Igloolik when the (interpretation ends) DEW line (interpretation) radar installations were still being operated.
He originally went to Hall Beach and moved to Igloolik and he has remained in Igloolik ever since that time.
Perhaps he is around 80 plus years old now.
The reason why I refer to this man is that our elders, no matter where they come from, are to be honoured and appreciated.
Due to the fact that our elders did their utmost to survive, as their descendants, we are able to live today. I am always appreciative of our elders.
As Nunavummiut, let us ensure we properly look after our elders by caring for them and to listen to their sage advice. I just wanted to reiterate this part.
On this elder’s birthday, although he is not the only one celebrating a birthday today, let us show Miqquirniq our appreciation on his birthday. I ask my colleagues to extend birthday wishes to him.
Item 6. (interpretation) Oral Questions. Member for Rankin Inlet South, Mr. Alexander Sammurtok.
Question 305 – 4(3): The Need for an Elders’ Facility in Rankin Inlet (Sammurtok, A)
I would like to direct my question to the Premier, who is also the Minister responsible for Seniors’ Advocate.
Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues will be aware, the issue of placement of our Kivalliq elders is of great concern to me.
I am not the only one concerned. In April of this year, the Kivalliq Inuit Association sent a letter to the Premier with respect to the need for a palliative care facility and elders facility in Rankin Inlet.
Can the Premier confirm that he did receive the April 26, 2016 letter from the Kivalliq Inuit Association regarding the need for a palliative care facility and elders facility in Rankin Inlet?
Mr. Speaker, as we’re all aware, there’s a major need for care of our seniors, our elders, and extended care facilities are needed throughout Nunavut.
There’s no doubt about that.
Mr. Speaker, I did receive the letter from the Kivalliq Inuit Association stating that there is a need for that among other things.
I get many letters on these issues and that’s one of the things that we talk about.
Of course, this whole Assembly supported the motion that was put forth by the regular members on making sure that we start working on a process where we can start initiating some of these things that our seniors and elders need in extended care facilities, going from level 1 all the way up to level 4. These are in the process of being discussed.
As the member is well aware, there are two proposals that are well advanced. There’s no doubt and this whole House supported the motion that was put forth by the regular members.
As a government, the member is absolutely right that there’s always a need for more funding, more priorities, and this is one of the priorities that I intend to see moving forward.
Mr. Sammurtok: Mr. Speaker, I do recognize that elder needs may be met by a number of different departments and services within Nunavut’s government.
Can the Premier describe in detail how he, as the Minister responsible for Seniors’ Advocate, works with his cabinet colleagues and others to ensure that departments and agencies are working together to provide all the necessary services for our elders?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. Hon. Premier of Nunavut, Mr. Taptuna.
There are discussions through our various departments, including my department. It is one of the things that were discussed during our cabinet retreat, both in 2014 during our retreat in Whale Cove and this recent retreat that we had in Clyde River/Iqaluit.
Those are ongoing discussions. In fact, I don’t want to get to the details of the processes that we’re doing in cabinet.
Once they’re done and established, I’ll surely let the House know about the progress on that.
Mr. Sammurtok: Mr. Speaker, I have raised the need for an elders facility in Rankin Inlet for some time now.
With nine Rankin Inlet elders currently receiving care away from their home community and an additional ten or twelve Rankin Inlet elders whose families will soon not be able to provide the level of care they need, Rankin Inlet desperately needs its own elders care facility.
Will the Premier commit to addressing this need as soon as possible?
Mr. Speaker, we all need to work together on this, our departments, the Legislative Assembly, and our partners that are out there. We want to ensure that we get the best care possible for our seniors and elders that do need care.
Mr. Speaker, the member has been raising this question for a number of sessions and I understand where he and his folks from Rankin Inlet are coming from.
We do need to pick up the pace to ensure that we have facilities to take care of our elders.
We talk about care closer to home, not just within this government.
We talked about this in this government, the previous government, and the governments before. We want care closer to home for our elders that do need the care that we should be providing.
As the saying goes, the level of the government’s responsibility is always measured by how well they take care of their seniors, their elderly, and the folks that need more care.
Mr. Speaker, I will do my best with our partners to ensure that we work in getting the facilities that we do need for our seniors and elders all throughout the levels.
Level 5 is one of the difficult situations that we face in Nunavut. We do need extra professional care when it comes to level 5, but we’re aware of that.
Mr. Speaker, we will certainly do our best with our partners to ensure that we move this file forward.
Question 306 – 4(3): Cabinet Retreat in Clyde River (Okalik)
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and welcome back.
I would like to ask a question to the Premier about the meeting in Clyde River that the Member for Uqqummiut spoke about.
I am very glad that they went to meet in a small community because we want to help the small communities.
I would first like to ask the Premier: how many hours did they spend in Clyde River?
I can certainly provide that once I get them in front of me.
There was a day that we spent there and there were unforeseen circumstances that prevailed.
Mr. Speaker, we did complete our discussions once we got back here to Iqaluit.
As members are well aware, that took a bit of time because of the storms. The city was shut down for a number of days, so we did take the time to finish our retreat.
It’s sad to say that we had intended to finish our retreat in Clyde River, but under certain circumstances, we could not do that.
I will provide the number of the exact hours that he’s requesting.
It’s unfortunate that the weather controls us sometimes.
You should spend more time because they pass. We didn’t hear of anything that was discussed during the meeting. After meetings take place, the people who ran the meetings usually tell us about what happened.
Can the Premier tell us what was decided or what was said at the meeting?
I certainly can speak about some points that we discussed.
Mr. Speaker, there were letters of direction that went out to each minister. There were letters of direction that went out to deputy ministers. As a usual protocol after a retreat like that, there are directions for actions that are taken by departments through consensus style of governing of the cabinet.
There are a different number of things.
I can’t get into exact details of our discussions, but the member is well aware, as he has taken parts in many retreats, of how the processes work.
We decide what the action items are going to be. The letters of instruction go out to each minister, including our deputy ministers.
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you. Mr. Speaker.
Yes, I have taken part in retreats and I explained what happened at the retreats.
That’s what seemed to be missing. I know they went to Clyde River and it was expensive to get there and to stay there for a short amount of time.
How much did that trip to Clyde River cost? Can the Premier provide that to the House?
Being an open and transparent Premier, of course, you will get the finances that cost to take that trip there. There are also many trips that other members have taken.
There are many other trips that I have taken. We take these trips on behalf of Nunavummiut. We want to come up with the best action plan that is effective and that benefits Nunavummiut.
We want to ensure that whatever programs that may be out there in the federal government, we go after those programs and program money like any other responsible minister would do.
We do not sit around here waiting for things to happen.
We go out there and we try to access extra money that is out there.
When it comes to health, we do that constantly. When it comes to the economy and transportation, we do that constantly.
We do have to invest our money to try to get back more benefits for Nunavummiut.
Question 307 – 4(3): Public Housing Allocation Process (Qirngnuq)
My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation and they concern the issue of the allocation process for public housing units.
As of today, how many people are on the public housing waiting list for the community of Kugaaruk?
Mr. Speaker, right now, as of the latest information I have, there are 79 applications on the public housing waitlist.
As of today, how many people are on the public housing waiting list for the community of Taloyoak?
Speaker (interpretation): Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Hickes.
A very similar number, the latest information I have is 76 is the number that are on the needs waitlist in Taloyoak.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. Your final supplementary, Mr. Qirngnuq.
As the minister will recall, one of the recommendations in the Auditor General’s 2008 report on the Nunavut Housing Corporation was that NHC should, and I quote, “clarify the appeal process for applicants and tenants who feel they have been treated unfairly, and clarify the internal corporate procedures for managing the appeal.”
Can the minister clearly describe NHC’s current appeals process?
There are a number of avenues available to people to appeal.
The first would be to their local LHO to appeal any allocation errors that they feel may have been done or any other restrictions that were put upon their application. There is a further appeal process that they can take that to the district office for a further appeal.