EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Energy…since the fuel costs are very expensive and we talk about alternative energy, what has the department of energy done in regard to research or study on the river dams.
The Power Corporation over the last couple of years has been investigating different types of alternative energy for Nunavut.
Some of them are quite well known and some of them are not well known.
The Member specifically asked a question around hydro energy. Mr. Speaker, the Corporation in the last few months has been working where economy of scales would demonstrate the best place to put a hydro site so that we would have a ripple down effect of the cost for power across Nunavut.
So, there has been some good work done in the last several months. For example, here in Iqaluit looking at the opportunities of hydro development. They’ve also had involvement of the local hunters and trappers association as well as local mayors in the region and different hamlets and councils where they actually brought people to see some of these sites, for example in Greenland.
So, the short answer for the member is that there has been quite a bit of on-going work especially in the area of hydro potential.
Mr. Netser (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the minister stated that there has been some work done on the hydro.
Which river that you are talking about that they are working on.
Mr. Speaker, there has been work done over the last 20 years on different hydro sites. For example, there are some hydro sites that we have looked at which are in the Kivalliq region.
We have also in the past short while we have been reviewing the opportunities for a hydro site here in Iqaluit.
The reason for that is almost 13 million of litres of fuel is purchased just for the City of Iqaluit to provide electricity.
And we see that increasing and there is good economy of scale to look at other alternatives.
For that alternative hydro right now we have identified 16 different sites within a 50-kilometre radius of Iqaluit which have the potential for hydro development.
The minister mentioned that there has been a study in the Kivalliq region.
As the member knows that Coral Harbour has a river called Kirchoffer Falls; has that been considered?
The best information that I have is that the river in Coral has not actually been looked at for hydro opportunities. The areas that we talked about were the ones that are very close to the Manitoba - Nunavut border.
The worked in conjunction very early on with the pre-feasibility study for transmission lines from Churchill into the Kivalliq.
Mr. Speaker, I believe there is some opportunity with Coral Harbour, with Baker Lake, Kugluktuk comes to mind and there are quite a few of our communities that have larger rivers to produce some hydro opportunities.
The Member knows that the river is closer to our community.
Could he commit to the House that he’ll consider our community and send a team of engineers in the near future to look at my community towards the hydro plans.
Mr. Speaker, right now the corporation is focusing on the hydro surveys that have been in place and that was done through a tendering process.
Mr. Speaker, I will check with the power corporation, with our engineering staff to see what are the opportunities to be able to not only look just at the Coral site, but some of the other sites outside of this area, Iqaluit., to see where we have an opportunity and economies of scale to be able to develop hydro power.
As I have said here in the House before the Government of Nunavut and Nunavummiut, we have an addiction to oil and we don’t see these prices going down. It behoves us to be able to move forward with other renewable energy opportunities.
I think the member from Coral Harbour is correct, that may be, indeed, hydro, so we will follow up with the member’s request.
Question 076 – 2(3): Continuation of Internship Program (Curley)
I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Finance who made a statement in regard to the five interns in the Financial Internship Program. They had completed in October 2005. We would like to thank the Department of Finance for having started this internship program.
What the minister didn’t tell is whether there is going to be a continuation of this internship program and for individuals outside of the Baffin region?
At this time we don’t have any money set aside for an internship program.
We will have to look into the programs to finance such a program. We would be welcoming interns from all over Nunavut.
I would like to thank the Minister of Finance for his response, but under Article 24 there is a lot of work to be done.
We are targeting for an 85 percent Inuit employment, but it doesn’t say how many Inuit are working in the government departments, or whether we are achieving our goal, or nearing our goal of 85 percent.
Is it possible for the minister to let us know if we are reaching that 85 percent mark and also to give us an indication of what percentage are coming from the Baffin, Kitikmeot, and the Keewatin?
Could the minister agree to do so?
I could do so.
Question 077 – 2(3): Expiration of Lease Agreement (Tootoo)
Last April we had a wonderful opportunity to review a tabled document provided by the government on contracts and leases.
At that time I questioned the minister and her staff regarding a particular lease that was the single largest lease that the government had. I think it was around $1.2 million a year.
At that time they had indicated that it expires in 2006, which is not very far away, a couple of months away.
At that time the minister had indicated that they were looking at some options to look at what they are going to do.
They were planning on bringing forward a recommendation in the next four to six months.
I note that four to six months has come and gone, at the latest six months would have been last month.
My question to the minister is if she can update us as to what option they looked at, or what’s been done with options regarding that $1.2 million lease upon its expiry?
The member is correct that the lease for the Enokhok Development Corporation in Cambridge Bay is due to expire in February 2006. That is correct.
Just to give a little background, that current lease was entered into prior to the creation of Nunavut, when we were still under the Government of the Northwest Territories.
As for the recommendations that the member speaks about, once I have that information, I would be willing to share with the House and with the member.
As my former colleague that used to sit beside me... actually I used to sit here, and he used to sit here, would say it’s no secret that we know that that lease was signed in a previous government when we were still with the Northwest Territories.
My guess Mr. Speaker is that a similar type of lease would never be signed by the Government of Nunavut. The minister indicated that once she has the information and the details on those recommendations, she’d provide it to this House.
Has any decision been made, is she aware of whether a recommendation has been brought forward and decided on in this particular case?
It’s in the works.
I will talk with my officials to find out what’s been happening.
I know this was last April, and the minister of the day indicated that they were already working on options and looking at different options that they were going to look, like the space requirements and things like that, for that facility.
Could the minister, while she’s asking her officials to look at, or provide her with the information as far as the recommendations, also provide a chronology of what’s happened with that particular file since April 28, when it was discussed in Committee of the Whole last?
There is the requirement to receive approval from the Financial Management Board Services prior to entering into an agreement with EDC.
Yes, I will provide the chronology that the member speaks about.
The minister indicated that there is a requirement for any recommendations to be brought forward to the Financial Management Board.
Can she give us an indication as to when her department is planning on bringing this item forward to Financial Management Board for a decision?
Hon. Levinia Brown (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is in the works and they are currently working on it.
Once it’s completed we will give you the information.
Question 078 – 2(3): Update on the Manitoba Nunavut Road Project (Alagalak)
I would like to direct my question to the Minister for the Department of Transportation.
It’s been a while since we got an update.
Could the minister report to the House on the Manitoba Nunavut Highway, or the road that is going to be built? Could the minister give us an update on what’s happening?
Speaker (interpretation): Minister responsible for Economic Development and Transportation, Mr. Kilabuk.
The Manitoba Nunavut Road Project and the review, we’ve been at it for quite a while and we are still looking forward to getting this project going.
At the time our department is having discussions with the Kivalliq Inuit Association and other entities and the Ministry of Transport of Manitoba.
We are looking at ways and means of how to get this project underway.
We’ve been in office for over a year now and we heard that the federal government and Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated worked together and put aside approximately $1 million for environmental assessment.
We heard that this money was approved and I am not sure exactly where that $1 million went or to which entity and to which government.
Could the minister identify who was going to look into these projects and what was going to be put underway?
If we are talking about the same issue the money was given to a contractor and if I can say it correctly SNC Lavalin.
They were the contractors who were going to do a review of the project.
Your second supplementary, Mr. Alagalak.
Mr. Alagalak: Mr. Speaker that must have been outer space language or something because I didn’t get an understanding of that. (interpretation) I will probably see it in the writing of the Blues and I’ll understand exactly what you are talking about.
I would like to get an update now and then on what is happening with that project.
If it is possible for your department or Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, I would like to see a progress report given to us and again another question.
You are probably most aware and because you are wiser than we are, could you tell us what is going to be happening during the summer season.
In regard to the community reviews and consultations for example on November 1, we consulted the community of Rankin Inlet and we’ll be getting the consultation report.
It will be given to the affected communities and the entities that we have agreed to work with.
We will give you an update on what is going to be happening this spring.
But we’ll only do so after we get the report from the consultations.
Your final supplementary, Mr. Alagalak.
We did hear what was happening every year but we heard that 2007 would be the beginning of the actual working on the road project.
Is that still the case?
I would be like to be involved in the sod turning in order to start the construction and when I did become responsible for this portfolio there had to be an assessment done.
That was a requirement. If there is no delay in the assessment portion of it, and if we are able to put our monies together to get the project going in order to implement the plans that were made, and if everything stays on its timeline, we will see the beginning of it.
There have been no changes to the plans that were made earlier.
Question 079 – 2(3): Homelessness in Nunavut (Barnabas)
My question is directed to the Minister Responsible for Homelessness.
Mr. Speaker, can the minister table in this House, the plans that he has for homelessness in Nunavut.
The Government of Nunavut and the federal government are the only two jurisdictions in Canada to actually have a secretariat set up directly and a minister responsible for the issue of homelessness.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Nunavut has set up a secretariat, which is contained within the Department of Education.
And, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that the monies that were voted in the House last year, we’ve actually had some uptake on those monies from different groups around Nunavut.
For example, in Cape Dorset, we’ve been involved in a study on homelessness there that has been multi-funded by different departments including HRDC. And, some good news was just forthcoming from Minister Fontana.
Minister Fontana informed us that indeed the SCPI fund, which is what we use for the homeless program in Nunavut, has been renewed for 2006-07.
Has the new money been announced by the federal government for homelessness?
The member is correct. The federal government has just recently...I can’t say Mr. Speaker that that money isn’t based on a possible election call, but I can say that we’re happy that they have announced the renewal of this 2006-07 funding program for homelessness.
That money is not just specifically for Nunavut. It is actually part of the homelessness strategy that was put in place by the federal government. That is good news though for us here in Nunavut and especially for our people who are dealing with the issue of homelessness across the territory.
Can groups apply for money from the homelessness secretariat to fund proposals?
The member again is correct. We put initially $100,000, voted by the members in the House to the Homeless Secretariat to enhance projects and help leverage funds from different agencies of government to be able to support the issue of homelessness in Nunavut.
As I said earlier, we’ve had some requests come in for funding, and agencies. One was from Cape Dorset. We also are working with one right now I believe on a request about homelessness in regard to women, specifically.
So, Mr. Speaker, the quick answer to the member is yes. That opportunity is there.
Mr. Barnabas (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We heard in the news that the homeless people have been moved; perhaps if I could do it in English. (interpretation ends) Will the homeless shelter here be moved into a new building?
Hon. Ed. Picco: Mr. Speaker, as Iqaluit has continued to grow, the homeless shelter that we currently use has been over utilized and indeed, it’s an older building that was modified from a housing association house.
The Salvation Army has assumed responsibility for running the homeless shelter and I must say, Mr. Speaker, by all accounts; they are doing an excellent job.
Mr. Speaker, right now, we don’t have enough beds available.
The Salvation Army has been working with a local group in town to access a new building that would provide more beds for many of our homeless in the community.
Mr. Speaker, they have not moved into that building yet.
There had been issues around the building itself with the fire code, and so on.
Those improvements need to be done to the building first before the building could accept clients.
It’s my understanding that the Homeless Shelter Group, through the Salvation Army, would hope to be in a position to move in the not too distant future.
So, at the present time, I can say that the people in the homeless shelter have not moved to a new building, although we are hoping that will happen before Christmas.
Question 080 – 2(3): Periodic Review of the NNI Policy (Curley)
My question is directed to the Minister of Economic Development in regard to the NNI Policy.
Some people like the NNI Policy, specifically the smaller business, but southern companies are not very happy with the NNI Policy.
I understand that they will be having a periodic review by the review committee as the NNI Policy 17.6 states that after five years they would do a full review of the NNI Policy.
I think you tabled the major review that was done. I wonder if the minister can table that periodic review process as well.
Speaker (interpretation): Minister for Economic Development and Transportation, Minister Kilabuk.
The five-year review that the member is talking about; he has put me in sort of an awkward position.
Those problems that relate to my department from the review; we have not heard anything from that periodic review yet, but the problems that have to be changed will have to go through the Cabinet.
Mr. Curley (interpretation): If the minister could perhaps do a report about the five-year comprehensive report because the members would like to be able to know, specifically to do with Inuit firms’ review; there are four parts to the review.
The concern that we have; the Inuit employment levels are done through contracting authority by the ministers.
Can the minister tell us whether this is a mandatory thing, and if they do a minimum thing, do they have to pay a penalty?
That is also my understanding.
I stand to be corrected, but to the information that I have and the understanding I have in the application of NNI, if those numbers, for any of the employment plans, are not met, then the penalties will be applied.
I want to be quite clear. I think it’s important that the minister either makes it mandatory that if the minimum levels are not met, that there would be a penalty provision applied on all contracts, instead of making it the discretion of the minister of whether to apply that policy or not.
So, will you undertake to review and consider making it mandatory that if the minimum levels of Inuit employment are not met, that penalty provisions and financial provisions will apply; yes or no?
Yes, I will commit to review this further.
Like I said, my understanding of the penalties, as they are today, is already being applied as a mandatory measure.
I will commit to looking into that further for my colleague and for the House, which I will share with my colleagues at the appropriate time.
It is important that the contractors, whether they be Inuit or non-Inuit, fully understand that if they set their bid high, higher than the minimum content set by any one of the ministers that they be honest in meeting those high standards that they say that they’re going to apply for performing a contract.
It is for that reason that I am asking the minister to make it mandatory so that contracts are given based on fair and honest bids.
It has been taken advantage of, those provisions, so I would like the minister if he would, to table these recommendations by early in the year 2006.
I will definitely commit to reviewing this further.
Also at the same time, but just for the information of my colleagues, when we talk about NNI, there are also different levels under which they are categorized; just to give you an example, the criteria for Nunavut business, local business, and also the Inuit firms.
I will commit to reviewing further and commit to reviewing this with my colleagues, at the cabinet level.
I request unanimous consent to go back to Item 5. Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery.
Speaker (interpretation): The member is asking for unanimous consent to return to Item 5.
I would like to recognize Mr. Bill Lyall.
Mr. Lyall is the President of Ikaluktutiak Co-op in Cambridge Bay, and the President of the Arctic Co-operatives Limited, representing all Co-ops in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
Welcome to the House, Mr. Lyall.
I would like to recognize a person from Baker Lake, our Wildlife Officer Mr. Joseph Niego.
Tabled Document 032 – 2(3): 2005 Kitikmeot Inuit Association Resolutions (Peterson)
Mr. Speaker, I would like to table the 2005 Kitikmeot Inuit Association Annual General Meeting Resolutions.
Tabled Document 033 – 2(3): Photos of Arviat Nursing Station Parking Lot (Alagalak)
In the health centre in Arviat the parking lot is beside the health centre and here are two photographs and there is some written material on it too.
Tabled Document 034 – 2(3): Federal/Provincial/Territorial Health Meetings (Aglukkaq)
I wish to table the following document; The Annual Federal/Provincial/Territorial Health Meetings October 21 to 23; Information item; Canada Northwest FASD Minister of Health October 3. Information item; Provincial/Territorial Ministers of Health September 9, 2005.
Provincial/Territorial Minister of Health April 15-17, 2005, and Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Meeting Responsible for the Status of Women September 21 to 23, 2005.
Tabled Document 035 – 2(3): House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance Meeting Minutes (Peterson)
I would like to table the November 1, 2005 House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance Minutes. Mr. Speaker, these are the minutes of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities who attended and made a presentation on behalf of the municipalities in Nunavut.
If members read it, there is a discussion on the Territorial Finance Agreement, devolution and food prices among other issues.
Motion 001 – 2(3): Federal-Territorial Negotiations on Early Learning and Childcare (Picco)
I’d like to thank my colleagues. Mr. Chair I would like to move at this time the following motion:
Mr. Speaker, the motion is on the Federal-Territorial Negotiations on Early Learning and Child Care.
WHEREAS children in all parts of Canada are entitled to receive early learning and child care programs that are comparable in quality and accessibility;
AND WHEREAS the Legislative Assembly recognizes that the federal government’s recently announced $5 billion, five-year early learning and child care initiative will not achieve this principle and meet the needs of the north if the funds are allocated on a strictly per capita basis.
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Hon. Member for Quttiktuq, that this House urges the federal Minister of Social Development, the Hon. Ken Dryden, to work with the Members of Parliament for Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon to modify this funding formula for the early learning and child care initiative as it applies to the three Northern territories, so as to provide base funding and per capita funding in order to adequately meet the needs of our children;
AND FURTHER I MOVE that this House urge the Federal Minister to recognize that Inuit are entitled to the same benefits Mr. Speaker, the same benefits as other Aboriginal Canadians throughout Canada and to reconsider his decision to exclude Inuit from the recently announced $100 million federal program for Aboriginal Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I would request a recorded vote on my motion.
I’d like to inform you, each individual has 20 minutes to make comments to the motion and the mover and the seconder are given an opportunity.
The mover will be able to have the final comment.
Speaker (interpretation): Sorry, Mr. Picco.
It’s a little frustrating that we had to, as an Assembly, move to this point with regards to the federal negotiations on the ELCC, which is the Early Learning and Childcare Agreement.
I want to update the House a little bit in this format on what has occurred to date. When the federal government announced the program in 2004, all jurisdictions welcomed the announcement because it looked at improving childcare programs across Canada.
The federal government announced that this was a Pan Canadian strategy, Pan Canadian meaning; involving all Canadians in all jurisdictions.
I further went down with the two territories, with the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, and at one point with the Prince Edward Island jurisdiction and minister to request that we would have, on top of the per capita funding, an amount of $2 million as a base for the territory.
Now, let me just explain this very quickly. Mr. Speaker, for every $1 billion put into a federal program, that only gives Nunavut $700,000 roughly, because it’s on per capita. So, for every $1 billion announced by the federal government, that’s $700,000.
That is not enough in the context of what we’re trying to accomplish in Nunavut with our daycares.
Mr. Speaker, I brought that forward to the minister responsible in our federal, provincial, territorial meeting with Mr. Dryden.
I also followed that up with a personal meeting with Mr. Dryden in Ottawa, and again with our MP, Nancy Karetak-Lyndell.
I reiterated our position that we needed a little bit more, Mr. Speaker.
What the Government of Nunavut was asking for was a level playing field.