EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Mr. Campbell mentioned there were problems with the Kitikmeot community futures.
I know we did have an operational Community Futures probably four or five years ago and it has been a real struggle to get the Community Futures up and operational again in the Kitikmeot.
I wonder if the minister or Mr. Campbell could shed some light on that problem for me.
I will just go back for a second to the community economic development officers.
I promise my colleague to get more information.
In terms of training the economic development officers, we also provide $100,000 per year to the municipal training organization for them to train the economic development officers.
So all of that training is always ongoing, it should be ongoing, but I would hope that this...so yes, the economic development officers are being trained as much as possible.
And also the Business Credit Corporation has already streamlined their application process to a point now where it takes them a maximum of eight weeks, they tell now, to process an application and have the money in the hands of the business.
So the credit corporation has been very proactive in streamlining their process season in working with the economic development officers.
In terms of Community Futures, I will have my deputy respond to that.
The problem, basically, in the Kitikmeot is that we have not been able to somebody there in the regions to spearhead that Community Futures movement.
There have been several people interested in getting their Community Futures organizations going, but for various reasons, they either move or are not interested, and that process continues.
In the meantime, we do have capital sitting there that should be moving, and issuing some loans and, as the minister indicated, that’s one of the reasons why we want to review that process and see how we can facilitate and how we can either reallocate some of that funding into other areas of the department.
I thank Mr. Minister and Mr. Campbell.
I just want to go back on the community economic development as well.
I am glad to hear that your staff is streamlining the process, but eight weeks still seems like a long time.
Those are eight weeks, that’s five-day weeks or work weeks, so that’s still a long time.
I know the business credit corporation is a fund of last resort.
When I was working at the Nunavut CEDO, the Nunavut CEDO worked with Kakivak Association. We developed six training modules that we made available, and the Nunavut CEDO holds the copyright to the Nunavut Economic Development Association.
There are six modules that each economic development officer in a community can learn at their own pace.
I believe, if memory serves me correct, we also developed a complete set for each economic development officer and provided it to them.
So that material is available.
Perhaps your officials might want to follow up because they probably need to be updated or maybe some of it has gone missing.
We worked with a consulting firm and used real-life Nunavut examples in the communities how to do bookkeeping, how to develop small projects and how to develop applications.
So it’s very good information.
In terms of the Community Futures in the Kitikmeot, I’m not sure what the issue is there.
I know there’s an organization there, Kitikmeot Economic Development Commission that has expressed interest over the last few years.
I believe we met with the Executive Director of that organization last September.
He expressed some interest.
I’ll see those folks this week and I’ll follow up to see if there’s still interest on their part to pursue the Community Futures. They’ve told me that there’s a pressing need for the loans under $75,000 that’s mentioned in your Main Estimates.
Not all the applicants in the Kitikmeot necessarily want to go to the Business Credit Corporation. It takes eight weeks for the Business Credit Corporation to process a loan. It is probably half that, or maybe less for Community Futures.
The funding is there every year.
I think because it links with the Business Credit Corporation, who can also help with some funds. Does some funding come from Credit Corporation to help fund Community Futures loans? Can Mr. Campbell or the minister can clarify that for me?
There were changes made to the Nunavut Business Credit Corporations Act a couple of years ago.
Community Futures organizations can now access up to $1 million each from the Business Credit Corporation for small business loans.
I thank the minister for that clarification.
Something struck me that there was a link to the credit corporation, it’s not just small and/or an under capitalized organization. They can draw on a substantial amount of money and bring it to the community or into the region.
The people that sit on the Community Futures board are drawn from the region, so they have hands on practical advice and knowledge of the region.
On page K-9, Nunavut Broadband Building Corporation, we were anxiously awaiting broadband to arrive in Nunavut.
Once it arrives, it seems to me that somehow we’re going to need that organization to remain around for the next few years, while we roll out the broadband.
With an annual contribution of only $50,000, how is that help them to continue to operate to provide broadband services to Nunavut?
I’ll have my Assistant Deputy Minister answer that question.
Chairman: Ms. Keenainak.
The Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation, yes, we’re about to have a discussion within the fiscal year 2005/06.
In regards to the operation, that $50,000 was an initial start up last year, just to give support and they will be able to give us the information as to how much they had expended from last year.
In the fiscal year of 2006/07, we’ll have a better idea, whether they need to increase the funding for this line item.
(interpretation ends) We’ve had some initial discussions with the Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation, they’ve indicated that the O&M costs will be increasing and they are not being funded by the federal funding that they are getting.
So, initial discussions are that we will be working with them in the upcoming year, for 2006/07 budget year, take a look at what their needs are and what we are able to submit to the minister and the Cabinet for 2006/07.
I thank the Minister and the Assistant Deputy Minister for that response.
Yes it would be very unfortunate or disappointing to be on the verge of rolling out this, I’m not sure how many millions it is but it’s quite an expensive undertaking and it’s going to contribute a lot to the information technology in Nunavut in all of our communities, and not have the Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation well funded.
We’ve got a lot people out there waiting anxiously to have the switch turned on.
I’m not sure if it will be turned on this month or next month but nevertheless, they are waiting.
I know that technology is subject to change every 3 to 6 months so you have to have people in place to be on top of that technology we need.
People that have to be able to work with failures in technology and deal with the various levels of government.
I believe in Nunavut, the Broadband Development Corporation deals with the Treasury Board in Ottawa, they deal with Infrastructure Canada, they deal with Telesat, they deal with the Government of Nunavut and who knows who else.
You need those people in place who have that knowledge experience, the technical capacity and political savvy to make sure this broadband initiative unfolds without too many more delays and that it continues to serve us well in the next, like, forever so to speak, because I don’t think it’s going away.
We’ll be very dependant on it, so I would like to see your department take a serious look at helping them out when they do approach you for financial assistance in the coming fiscal year.
Chairman: Yes, thank you.
Your time is up too anyway, Mr. Peterson.
So, we’re going to go for a fifteen minute break before we proceed onto the next question with the next person.
>>Committee recessed at 15:07 and resumed at 15: 39
Chairman: We will resume.
My first question and it is going through the Grants and Contributions.
My colleague earlier asked about the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation and the role four staff play in Cape Dorset.
The minister had indicated that they are pretty much all encompassing the staff.
I must say that I know that recently here in Iqaluit that they did some good work for some of the businesses and I commend them for that.
Under the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation, does the department or does the ministry have any role in identifying or working on one of the areas that my colleague mentioned earlier and that’s in the collections where they may have problem in the collections of loans from clients.
Just for the members information, we’re on K-7, 8, 9, 10 and K-11.
No, neither I nor my department is involved in any of that.
The Nunavut Business Credit Corporation handles all that themselves.
In cases, and I’m sure there are some out there that legal action is being looked at, but when the Credit Corporation is pursuing legal action on a client for non-payment, or whatever, do they engage their own lawyers for that, or do they use any lawyers from the department, or any other departments, like the Department of Justice or do they get a separate thing.
No, they have to go through our Department of Justice first.
Is the minister responsible for the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation aware or made aware of any actions where the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation has to go through the Department of Justice for legal advice.
Yes, I am normally advised.
When looking at this whole scenario of court and legal action and that, I know at times it can get very expensive to do that.
I’m just wondering if there’s at any point, some rationale or some thought at looking if we’re going to be spending at maybe $200,000 in legal fees to try and collect $90,000 of debt.
Is that something that’s taken into consideration when these actions are pursued?
Yes, that’s normally taken into consideration.
If that is taken into consideration and say it’s going to cost 2 or 3 times more than what they are after.
Is that something because it is taken into consideration?
At what point do they ask if it’s really worth it to try and pursue that.
Are we going to spend more of our limited resources trying to collect something that is half or whatever of what it’s going to cost us even to just and try and pursue it and not necessarily end up the fact that you’re going to end up being able to get that money back?
Hon. David Simailak: I’ll get my Deputy Minister to answer that please.
Normally the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation is independent of these processes.
At some point in time when there is an issue as the member raised that there is an outstanding loan and is not collectable, at some point in time there is recommendations made by the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation to government to write off some of those accounts.
That is where decisions are made as to whether recommendations are made through the minister, who is also responsible for the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation to advance that recommendation on their behalf.
I know that is often a touchy situation for both parties involved.
In any case, where there is a loan made and there are assets that are out there.
Is one of the steps if the Credit Corporation is not getting repayment on the loan where they would have opportunity to take possession of any of the assets?
Like if someone that got a loan to start up a business and part of that was to build a building or some vehicles, that the Credit Corporation would be able to take those assets and sell those.
Would that be something that would be done prior to any legal action being taken?
Yes, as a normal course of business that is the way it’s done.
The Credit Corporation would seize assets and try to sell them to recover some of their money.
I don’t want to ask for any names but is the minister aware of any cases where this has happened, or is going to be happening?
Just to get an idea of how many loans out there are we looking at that are in arrears enough to be able to pursue this type of action?
The last time something like that happened would have been about three years ago now.
In terms of the Corporation’s allowance for doubtful accounts is actually less than five percent of the total loan’s portfolio, which by the end of this month that total would approximately $18.5 million worth of loans out there, and the allowance for doubtful accounts is less than five percent of that.
That is good to hear that and hopefully that all the steps are taken to stay out of the courts and try to minimize the impacts on people.
One of the things that have been mentioned before in the past and I know that the minister said something that the minister is aware a lot of businesses were given loans and given money and then just left. In a lot of cases some of those businesses ran into problems because there wasn’t any ongoing support.
That was a different shift that came in after a few years later that they realized that this is what was happening.
It is good to hear that it is improving.
It is getting better and there was only one case that he mentioned maybe three years ago in that.
All efforts are being taken, whether it’s repossessed or seize assets to pay down those loans.
I think that it is good to that those clauses and could be invoked.
I am sure that most of the people that are in arrears but don’t want to be but are kind of stuck in a situation where they don’t have much of a choice.
They probably don’t have any problems handing over the assets to help pay down the debt and any other outstanding amount besides that.
Maybe an amount that is something that they could work on repaying.
I think that that is a good positive direction that they are going.
My next question deals with K-8 with Nunavut Tourism.
I know that in the department’s Business Plan, they refer to the tourism sector as one that generates external capital, promotes Inuit culture, and the territory’s natural resources, and they acknowledged that this industry has great potential in Nunavut and it’s growing very rapidly.
And yet if you look over the years, they are not provided, I don’t think adequate financial support for the industry to be able to take advantage of those opportunities.
In fact, in the last two years, the Nunavut Tourism budget has been lower than it was three years ago in 2002/03 and in 2002/03 it was $2.364 million; in 2003/04 it was the same; in 2004/05 it was lowered to $2.175 million; and this year in the Main Estimates here was saying they are again getting the same amount that they did last year.
So I guess my question to the minister is: when and how is the department going to look at funding Nunavut Tourism and providing it that the level of funding that it needs in order to be able to really help tap into and develop that budding industry that has so much potential here in Nunavut.
I think if any one industry has the potential of gaining 100 percent Inuit employment in 26 communities across Nunavut is tourism.
So my question to the minister is when and how are they going to be looking at funding them adequately to be able to tap into that untapped market?
Over the last year, my department has been working very closely with Nunavut Tourism and all of that work resulted in us signing a memorandum of understanding between ourselves and Nunavut Tourism when I was in Cambridge Bay the last time.
And through that MOU, Nunavut Tourism is now much more focused.
We have working with them over the long-term to identify areas where they need more help.
Now they are going to be accessing other sources of funding albeit the federal government or others.
So they are using the money that we provide them to leverage other sources of funding from outside of our government and because they are much more focused now in terms of the work they are doing, they might be able to do that much more easily now.
So, yeah, we do provide them base funding, but then they leverage that to start to tap to other sources of funding.
Mr. Tootoo your time has expired, so if you have any further questions, I will put your name on the list.
There are a couple of names; Mr. Netser.
Under Nunavut Development Corporation, I would like to ask the minister how much funding they provide for the caribou hunt in Coral Harbour in the last two years.
Chairman: Minister Simailak.
Hon. David Simailak: Mr. Chairman, I will have my Assistant Deputy Minister to answer that, please.
Ms. Keenainak.  Ms. Keenainak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I will find out because the information that the member is requesting I don’t have with me but 2003/04, there was $300,000.
In 2004/05 there is $300,000 we’re expected to give for the caribou harvest in Coral Harbour.
I don’t have the information that he’s requested right now, but I will provide it to the member.
Chairman: Thank you, Ms. Keenainak.
Could you repeat the figure again?
I didn’t quite understand her so can she repeat the figure.
I’m sorry I was in a rush.
In 2003/04 there was $300,000 from Economic Development and Transportation that was given to the caribou harvest in Coral Harbour.
But the information that he is requesting, I will give it to the minister who can then provide it to him.
How much funding has Economic Development provided to the Rankin Inlet Meat Processing Plant?
I don’t have the information with me at the moment but I will look into that.
What they do is they get money from the Nunavut Development Corporation in the amount of $2.3 million.
NDC distributes them or splits them up in between nine companies.
I will be able to provide the member with that as soon as I get the information.
So could I ask the minister then if he has given any consideration to the Coral Harbour Meat Plant?
This winter they are hunting caribou and they are presently doing that and we want to see this continue.
There has been a growing concern that we’re spending a lot money to that Meat Plant.
Maybe the Coral Harbour Development Cooperation can start funding this maybe through loans if it would be possible.
My staff will be having meetings on how we can cooperate better and not just for us to provide the funding because they have a development corporation and they have to be able to stand on their own in the near future.
Maybe they should start thinking about doing that and give this more consideration.
How about the Rankin Inlet meat plant?
How is it operated if it doesn’t get it from Coral Harbour?
The meat plant in Rankin Inlet processes caribou, muskox and fish, and that’s how it’s running.
Mr. Chairman: Mr. Netser.
Mr. Netser: (interpretation): Where do they get the musk ox and how many?
Mr. Chairman (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Netser.
Sorry, it’s just caribou and fish, not musk ox.
What’s the poundage of the fish they get there?
Mr. Chairman (interpretation): Mr. Simailak.
Mr. Simailak (interpretation): At this time, we are not sure as to how much fish they get.
Everybody knows that it’s operating because of the caribou harvest in Coral Harbour.
The hunters in Coral Harbour are saying that the number is decreasing because they’re running further away.
If they’re going to catch 4,000 caribou, will the population be able to withstand the demand?
Just recently the Minister of Environment, I believe that there will be research as to how many there are, and at that time, they will be able to determine as to how many caribou they should get in a year.
Mr. Chairman (interpretation): Mr. Netser.
They were told that they were allowed 4,000 and we hear that at the Meat Plant, by the time one caribou is butchered and everything, it comes to $500 per caribou, so they make about $2 million, that comes from Coral Harbour, and the hunters in Coral Harbour are assisted about $700,000.
Their account is increasing from the interest and their earning money and they ask for quite a bit of money for the operation.
I wonder if the minister could look into this further and make improvements, maybe start catering to sport hunters, because it’s clear that the demand might not withstand the population.
Because about 6,000 killed every year and we hear that the number of calving females are decreasing, there was 90 percent, but now this winter it’s only at 30 percent and if that trend keeps up, then there will be a concern.
Maybe they can go towards catering to sport hunters?
I’m asking the minister about that.
Mr. Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Netser.
Yes, I have heard at this time the meat that is being processed in Rankin Inlet, they will have to be an increase in the price to process the meat this winter.
They say that they are not sure if there will be a market for it because they figure it might be too expensive.
We can work with the Department of Environment to see if we can use sport hunters instead.
We can look into this along with the Department of Environment.
With those kinds of discussions it is good to participate, especially when it concerns our community.
The residents of Coral Harbour have been requesting to get a meat plant and the obstacles that we encounter is because there is already a meat plant in Rankin Inlet.
I am not opposed to that.
If there was to be a meat plant in Coral Harbour, more of the money would be able to stay within the community.
I truly believe that if there was a meat plant, when they harvest the 4,000, they use Hercules aircraft.
That is where it gets quite expensive.
If we had a meat plant in our community, then we can have more direct international markets because that transportation cost from Coral Harbour to Rankin Inlet wouldn’t be there and the government and Nunavut Development Corporation wouldn’t spend so much money.
If it was like that, it would be a lot better.
Do you want the minister to respond?
We will look at this alternative to see if it would be feasible to have a meat plant in the community.
It would start out small, just locally, but it can go externally.
He has brought this up quite a few times and we can certainly check into this.
We don’t want just a small meat plant.
The HTO in Coral Harbour can look into this and check into this.
So I am asking the government to see if it can check into getting a meat plant and also with sport hunters for caribou.
We will check into this.
We will definitely check into this. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am compelled to say something.
When they first started building the meat plant in Rankin Inlet, I don’t remember anybody saying that they can only use caribou from Coral Harbour, but if it is not too economical now, would the caribou be marketable?
If they can transfer to Rankin Inlet or Baker Lake, you can transfer that operation to Coral Harbour because it is not Rankin Inlet and we shouldn’t be talking about meat like that.
I don’t believe in that sort of argument.
The assistant deputy minister’s responsibilities and it’s the $23 million here and her main responsibility is promotion of economic development, and if it’s just that, how many staff are there in the three regions?
What is the average?
Hon. David Simailak (interpretation): The first comment he made, I have heard that the meat plant has its own board of directors and they are considering to see if they can harvest caribou from the Rankin Inlet area by the board of directors there.
The sewing centre in Rankin Inlet was the decision by the Nunavut Development Corporation to move it to Baker Lake.
That was before I became the minister and my assistant will respond to how many staff she has.
It’s indicated under K-2 as to how many staff we have in the regions.
It indicates seven in the Baffin Region, eight in the Kivalliq, eight in the Kitikmeot.
Regional transportation would increase up to three in the Baffin, so that would make it ten, and an increase of three, which would make it 11 in the Kivalliq, and in the Kitikmeot, two more, so that would make it ten.
So in total, there would be 31 employees in the regions.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Ms. Keenainak.
I would like to thank assistant deputy minister for responding.
The reason why I am asking those questions is because not all of the communities have economic development officers.