EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
The MLAs from the cabinet and the public, we are going to work on the new policy so it will reflect everyone's interest and we want to help the people in the communities.
We are working on making a policy right now.
We are going to be listening to you and everyone that wishes to contribute information to the policy.
Speaker: Thank you. Oral questions.
Question 238 - 1(3): Use of Apex Treatment Centre
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
On Friday I tabled a copy of an article in the Nunatsiaq News dated September 24, 1999 with the headline, BCC to use Apex treatment centre for inmate rehab.
In it the government official is quoted as saying the proposal from the department of Health, which would have Nunavut Department of Justice take over the centre, has gone to the Nunavut Cabinet for approval and the two parties are simply awaiting a decision.
On Friday the minister advised the House that the Cabinet has not reviewed such a submission to date.
Can the Minister of Health and Social Services advise that his department has prepared a proposal for submission to cabinet on the use of the treatment centre in Apex by the Department of Justice or on behalf of the inmates.
Mr. Speaker, what I can say is that the Department of Health and Social Services are looking at all options with regard to the Apex Treatment Centre that was closed about a year ago.
But nothing has gone to cabinet.
Speaker: Thank you Mr. Picco. Mr. Tootoo.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t know if it is a point of order, I don’t want to use up one of my supplementary questions asking the Minister to respond to the question that I asked.
I will ask the Minister of Health to reply to the member.
Mr. Speaker, I thought I had replied to the member.
I replied to it on Friday, there is no position paper or option paper gone to cabinet.
I can’t comment on what some senior government official says in a newspaper even if you table it in the House.
No proposal has gone to cabinet concerning the Apex Treatment Centre.
What has happened Mr. Speaker, is that, as a government, and has a Department of Health and Social Services, we are reviewing the options for the Apex Treatment Centre.
That could be in conjunction with the Department of Justice, and we are also waiting for some work, as I said on Friday, from some of the interested community groups in Iqaluit to review all the facilities that are on the ground in the community.
Mr. Speaker, my question was that I didn’t ask the Minister if a proposal has been submitted to Cabinet, I asked him if his department has prepared a proposal to be submitted to Cabinet.
That is what I would like an answer for.
Then for the third time, yes, options have been presented for the usage of the Apex Treatment Centre, but it hasn’t gone to Cabinet.
I would like to thank the Minister for his response.
I am glad to hear that there was a proposal worked on.
And I would like to ask the Minister then if he could advise us if the proposal was submitted then to the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs for their review as a possible Cabinet submission.
Minister responsible for the Department of Health, Mr. Picco.
Mr. Speaker, the position paper for the Apex Treatment Centre reviewing the options, was reviewed by myself and also in conjunction with the Department of Justice.
Some time over the next week and a half, the senior officials between my department of Health and Social Services as well as the senior officials in the Department of Justice will sit down and review that proposal.
But it didn’t get to the Cabinet stage for evaluation or analysis because we weren’t sure of the impacts of the Apex Treatment Centre proposal itself, and therefore, it didn’t go forward.
Mr. Speaker, then if I am correct, the Minister is saying that it hasn’t gone outside his department.
I would like to maybe ask the Minister as to, if this is the same proposal that was mentioned back in September, why is it taking until next week for him and his staff in the department to look at it before it is submitted to Cabinet for review, in light of the need for those types of services in Nunavut.
I just wanted to correct what the member just said, it has gone outside my department.
As I said, it was done with consultation with the Department of Justice, so it did go outside my department with the Department of Justice.
What happened in September Mr. Speaker, what some senior person said within government, we weren’t happy with some of the options that were there, as a Minister, so we wanted to review those.
We have had some changes of senior people in our department and we want to review those in conjunction with the possible proposals that will come forward in the budget Mr. Speaker.
Question 239 - 1(3): Status of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Department of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, much has been said by the Minister and others about the importance of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, and the involvement of elders in the work of the Government of Nunavut.
Members continue to ask for it to happen, but we don’t see much evidence.
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the southern ways of alcohol and drug counselling and social work counselling have had little affect on the problems of alcoholism, suicide and violence in many of our communities.
The Minister has said as much.
One of the reasons we wanted Nunavut is because we wanted to try more things the Inuit way.
This is a great opportunity for us to try to do things differently.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise us how his department is going to develop culturally based programs involving the elders and the counselling people with some of these difficulties in their lives.
Are you going to be involving the elders more.
Minister responsible for Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Picco.
Mr. Speaker, first I would like to thank the member for his question, it is an excellent question.
Over the past twelve months Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services has been reviewing what was done in the past for our Health and Social Services issues and what we want to do under the Nunavut Government.
Some of the exciting things that we are doing, including here in Rankin Inlet, using a birthing centre incorporating Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and that type of thing is going forward.
As a department we have some strategies that will be coming forward in the budget to specifically deal with involving elders in the Department of Health and Social Services and in programs and in doing the mandate Mr. Speaker, for programs that we will be delivering after April 1st.
Question 240 - 1(3): Inuktitut Writing Systems
Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Culture, Language, Elders & Youth.
Mr. Speaker, we as Nattilik residents have our regional office in Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk.
We have an Inuktitut writing system but everything is not written in Inuktitut.
For example, when you are a Minister of Culture, Language, Elders & Youth, your Ministers' Statements are always in English and they should be translated into Inuktitut.
Mr. Speaker, the correspondence are usually in English only and the Hamlet Councils have to use their own funding, their have to spend money to translate the Minister’s statements so that they can be dealt with at the Hamlet Council's meeting.
Since this is your department’s responsibility, most of the documents are not translated into Inuktitut while it’s your position.
Do you have Inuktitut translators, Mr. Speaker.
Point of privilege, Mr. Havioyak.
All the material is usually translated into Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtuun and before they are given out they are usually written translated.
Speaker (interpretation): I think the member is talking about the documents that are being sent to the Hamlet Councils, perhaps if you would like to clarify Mr. Deputy Speaker, Mr. Puqiqnak.
Mr. Puqiqnak: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, although we come from the same region, our dialects are different.
I apologize if I did not make you understand.
What I am trying to say is that we have regional offices in Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk.
The documents are not translated to Inuktitut syllabics, for example the Hamlets of Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak, when they receive documents from the regional office they are not translated into Inuktitut syllabics and we are both members of the Legislative Assembly for Kitikmeot and my colleague for Akulliq and myself as a member of the Nattilik riding, every time we receive documents.
During the leadership summit the documents are not, when the leadership documents come in they are not usually translated into syllabics, Inuktitut syllabics and therefore, I would like to ask the Minister for Culture, Language, Elders & Youth if you have an office, do you have Inuktitut translators in Kitikmeot region.
Minster for Culture, Language, Elders & Youth, Mr. Havioyak.
Hon. Donald Havioyak (interpretation): In Kugluktuk and in Cambridge and also in Kitikmeot Region some time, I know that documents are supposed to be translated.
If you have problems with that, please would you please let me know, because that is part of my job, all the documents, anything to do with the, if they are not translated as I know they are supposed to translated.
All the documents are supposed to be translated into Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun.
I need to hear this kind of thing from all of you, so I could know.
On April 1st when the Nunavut Government was established we celebrated the first of April for establishing Nunavut Government.
We are the aboriginal peoples of our region, of our land and our own writing system.
We should be using our own writing system, especially in Kitikmeot.
The Inuktitut language is not used as much as the English language.
The Inuktitut language we value and want to preserve our Inuktitut language and the public places we would like to see our Inuktitut syllabics written on public places such as notices for example, here in Rankin Inlet.
We see a poster there, they welcome us to Rankin Inlet, and it is only in English.
The department should encourage and preserve and enhance the Inuktitut language and automatically if you are going post notices to include Inuktitut syllabics.
So, I am asking you, I am encouraging you to use that.
It is only a comment.
I want to remind the members of the Legislative Assembly that you should make your preamble brief because your preamble utilizes the question period.
So, make your preamble short during the question period.
Question 241 - 1(3): Policies Regarding Housing
Under Members' Statements, I made a statement and I advised you that I would be asking a question to the Minister of Housing in regards to Access Housing, because it is starting to become unaffordable because they have to pay for their mortgage.
I was wondering if we have grandfathered the program from the previous government.
On the policies and regulations for housing which are of concern, we are now reviewing all this legislation and we are still utilizing the system that was used by the previous government, just for the time being.
My supplementary question, although I understood your response, I would like you to explain to me what kind of review you will be doing.
In regards to my colleague's comments and the member's statement.
I understood from him, that the Access home bills vary from each other and sometimes they cannot really afford to pay for the bills.
I know that this is a concern.
In regards to his question, we could look into reviewing this for the private homeowners that cannot afford to pay for the bills, for their Access Housing.
Private homeowners should be budgeting their own expenses and once they cannot afford to pay for their expenses they can meet with a counsellor of our department and look at possible changes to their mortgage payment.
To date since it has been a concern, we are in the process of reviewing that and if you can give me better suggestions, we will look into it and usually when the mortgage holders cannot afford to pay for their mortgage we usually meet with the counsellors and figure out their mortgage payment.
Oral question. Mr. O'Brien.
Question 242 - 1(3): Tracking of Contracts
Mr. Speaker, we have heard some comments referring to the fact that we may not be able to track all contracts that have been issued over the last year.
I wonder if the Minister can explain to the House, if that is the case how would he and his department be able to balance the books for this government.
First of all, it is not difficult in respect of the fiscal year ends and compiling all the information for all the departments, the problem the Premier spoke of earlier in respect to specific contracts or specific types of contracts is breaking out the information in a timely and fairly accurate manner, given that we don’t have, as he has indicated, we don’t have all the full financial complements, staffing complements within all departments of government.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Ng. Oral question.
Mr. Speaker, is the Minister saying that come the end of the fiscal year when we have our financial books, I guess, presented for, whether it be to the auditor general or whoever for their review, that we will have the information as required to demonstrate where we spent x number of dollars and for what purpose.
Is that a fair statement.
Mr. Speaker, in trying to follow the lead of my honourable colleague Mr. Picco, keeping my replies short, yes.
Mr. Speaker, my question will also be brief.
Is if fair to say then Mr. Minister, that by the time our books are ready for review at the end of this fiscal year that we will have the information on the various contracts that may be missing now or that you will have that information available for members if they wish to review it.
Mr. Speaker, again it would depend on the detail and the category, if there is a specific request we will make all efforts to try and provide that information.
Question 243 - 1(3): Tabling of Cultural Information
Mr. Speaker, last week I put a question to the Minister for Elders and Youth on how cultural matters are being dealt with.
He said that he is in the process of gathering the information, together with NTI and that he will table them in the House.
When are they going to be tabled.
Thank you for asking that question.
I will respond to you the Inuinnaqtun way if you please, if I understand your question correctly, I have been working with NTI on how to deal with the very subject you raise.
I will reply in this way, in meeting with them over the issue of IQ, we worked towards reaching an agreement on a process for consultation with all Inuit.
It will be a bilateral process, with us the GN side doing our own consultations and NTI doing their own consultations.
It’s a process we hope to complete as quickly as possible and so we will waste no time seeking input from you and any other interested party at every opportunity we can.
If that does not answer your question I’d be more than happy to answer further questions.
Mr. Irqittuq (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question was in regards to the information that is being gathered, when will they be presented in the House.
I will allow that same question.
Minster of Culture, Language, Elders & Youth, Mr. Havioyak.
I think I’m finally understanding your question.
As I was saying, we and NTI will be meeting to pool together our resources and every time that we do, you will be given the information that is brought forward.
Also at those meetings we will delegate a task force to examine specific areas and they will report both to NTI and to us.
I’m trying to ask a question for which an answer cannot be found.
Once they have worked on the information, when would it be put together and tabled in this House.
Will it be next year, or beyond.
Will it be at the end of our session, or when will they be presented.
Speaker (interpretation): Minister of Culture, Language, Elders & Youth, Mr. Havioyak.
Once again thank you.
The task force we will be jointly forming with NTI will work on defining an IQ policy.
You will be hearing from this group and I am announcing this to you for the first time.
The task force will be made up of well-known experts in this area and will seek input from you.
Once the group has decided on a meeting schedule they will be contacting you.
Perhaps my question isn’t very clear.
My question is when will the information be made available.
Hon. Donald Havioyak (interpretation): I keep responding to his question, that once the task force tells us.
It’s still to be determined when they would be announcing that to us, so until we hear from the task force you will be hearing from NTI and us.
Question 244 - 1(3): Assistance for Artists
My question is to the Minister for Sustainable Development.
Are there any assistance programs for artists at the present time.
That’s my first question, thank you Mr. Speaker.
Hon. Peter Kilabuk (interpretation): Yes, thank you Mr. Speaker.
There is now a representative organization for artists and craft makers, and they work through the Department of Sustainable Development’s Arts and Crafts Division.
They are an excellent source for information such as the kind you are asking for.
I would like to ask if the application forms for these programs are easily filled in by those who speak only Inuktitut.
I have made instructions that all application forms be simplified and clear.
If anyone or any MLA was given a form that is hard to fill in, our staff can be approached for assistance.
I would like to ask how much money has been given out.
Perhaps if the member can explain for which program he is inquiring.
Final supplementary, Mr. Akesuk.
I wanted to ask how much money has been given out in assistance to artists to date, and that is all.
I don’t have the information the member is asking available to me at this time.
I would have to sort out what has been issued to date to artists and craft makers and make the figures available to the member and the House.
Question 245 - 1(3): Social Assistance Cost of Living Increases
My question today and I want to apologize for the long preamble, my question today is for the Minister of Finance regarding the increasing food costs for social assistance recipients.
I asked him the question in June and I got a speedy response written back in August.
I wonder if the Minister could update me on the status of increasing social assistance for recipients' cost of living and food prices.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t have any specific information on that, as you know the Minister of Education has responsibility for income support and he is undertaking an extensive review of the income support program in consultation throughout Nunavut.
So I will defer to my honourable colleague.
Speaker: Thank you Mr. Ng. Mr. Arvaluk, Minister of Education.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot release the information in respect to finances right now until such time as the Finance Minister has made his presentation on the Main Estimates.
However I would like to say in reflection of the Finance Minister’s comments, is that I will be making an announcement from my committee, the Income Support Review Committee, to look into the overall income support programs, the rates, the other matters that relate to, and sometimes hinder the income support recipients, sometimes promotes them, or allows them to make their own living.
Training programs, Student Financial Assistance, all of these things I want to be reviewed so that they become more reflective of the reality of Nunavut’s economy, social conditions and the goals that the government would like to achieve in the long term.
I appreciate the Minister’s answer and yes, I don’t want to sound like I am out of order here and ask him if there is going to be an increase in food costs for social assistance recipients.
But Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is here today, and we’ve heard it in this House many times, that people are having problems paying for their fuel oil.
They are having problems paying for their house rents, they’re having problems paying for this and that.
The fact of the matter is a lot of people on social assistance are not there because they want to be, they are there because of different reasons and I don’t really want to talk about that right now, but the fact of the matter is, the costs of groceries, and we all know that a lot of people have kids in school and a pair of runners is anywhere between 80 and 90 dollars, and they are on a fixed income.
My question to the Minister is, will he consider looking at the cost of living in Nunavut and increasing social assistance for the social assistance recipients.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Mr. Speaker, of course I would, but those income support recipients are not the only ones having hardship.
The students who are trying to maintain themselves in the Arctic College, coming in to the programs, nursing programs and other higher education, secondary education, they are all having a hard time getting shoes and food to eat and pay for their rents.
So I think what I was trying to tell the member was that I want to look at all those programs that receive funding from the government, for those who are not in the wage economy and who are trying to make something of themselves and we would also inform the citizens of Nunavut that the income support program is not a long term solution.
It is only an immediate relief until such time as a person can get on their own two feet, except for those who are elderly or disabled, then of course different care is being given.
Yes, I will look at all those requirements, not just for the income support but for everyone else who depends on government programs.
I am happy to hear the Minister’s answer on that one and I hope the Minister of Finance was listening to it and, Mr. Speaker, I can appreciate the Minister’s dilemma in income support and investing in people and things like that but we also know that we are in union negotiations and just recently there was an announcement that northern allowances were going to be raised 15% for government employees and stuff.
But that still leaves our social assistance recipients a little behind everybody else.
So I know the Minister is looking at that according to his answer.
When can I expect to hear the results of this.
I have received the applications, approximately 100 applications of people who want to be on the review committee and I have selected 3 with one alternate.
I will be making an announcement as soon as we are able to inform those people who have been selected and see if they would accept the terms that we will be giving them in the committee.
Once we do that we will give them approximately 3 or 4 months to get their work done and hopefully it will be done by September.
Question 246 - 1(3): Pond Inlet Health Centre
Last week I spoke about problems being experienced in Pond Inlet.
I also raised the need to consider the health centre there.
I want to ask the Minister of Health if he fully understood the issues that I raised.
Minster of Health, Mr. Picco.
Mr. Speaker, I understood the question and I should take this opportunity to thank the member for inviting me to Pond Inlet about three weeks ago, to actually tour the health centre and we saw the conditions, it is one of the oldest health centres in Nunavut.
I received a letter from the member and also heard the concern at the public meeting and I had a conversation with the Mayor in Pond Inlet, and heard their need and desire to see that facility replaced.
That information has come back now officially through the member to the department.
Question 247 - 1(3): Task Force Information
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for Culture, Language, Elders & Youth.
Mr. Speaker, earlier the Minister in a response to another member’s question indicated that he was having a task force look into some stuff for him.
I haven’t seen any notices or been consulted on anything about this task force, maybe I could ask the Minister if he could please inform us as to what task force he is talking about.
During a meeting last fall in Iqaluit on IQ, delegates called for co-operation with NTI or that GN determine the plans for IQ and form a task force to work on IQ issues.