EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
The Department of Finance alone, well perhaps I would have to get the support from the Minister of Finance.
I cannot get all the information prior to me without speaking to that individual.
In looking at the May 8 proceedings I know that you have that back up.
There are the government’s 3,212 positions and 2,730 are filled.
It is in the document that you just tabled.
From December 31st, of the 2,641 individuals who work for the Government of Nunavut, 1,216 are Inuit.
So, our 85 percent of the population 1,216 is employed by the Government of Nunavut.
The other 15 percent of the population, approximately 5,000 non-Inuit, 1,425 are working.
That literally translates to 54 percent of staff, a little bit over 50 percent are filled by non-beneficiaries and 46 percent of these positions are in the Government of Nunavut.
Can the minister or his officials state to us what percentage annually, is there any increase, like there are 46 percent Inuit who work for the Government of Nunavut and 15 percent of the population.
Do you know the percentage for executive, senior management, middle management, professional all the way down to period administrator, could you tell us so we can at least have some kind of expectation that this time there are 1,216 Inuit beneficiaries.
Do you have any idea of how much increase there will be next year, and if you have a target?
So we’ll at least get an idea.
Our target is 2 percent increase for all the departments for hiring Inuit.
We are looking at two percent increase.
If all the positions are filled there will be 280 positions filled by Inuit and that is our target for four years.
Just to remind members that the Department of Human Resources makes a report as to how many beneficiaries are working in various departments, but the departments have the responsibility to hire Inuit and it’s their responsibility to increase the number of Inuit hires.
We are the advisors as the Department of Human Resources to other departments.
We advise them if they are far too below the Inuit Employment Plan.
We provide support and assistance to the departments.
So, with a goal of two percent every year to 2008, there would be 50 percent Inuit employment.
In 2008, it will only reach 50 percent Inuit employment within the government.
It would be better if this could be fast tracked.
Are you going to be careful to make sure that you are not in such a rush to fast track Inuit employment?
For example, what we have fixed is the lowest number, but we expect that it would be a little bit higher.
In 2008, we figure that it’s going to be over 50 percent, but we are going to work very hard to achieve that.
We would like to get 208 Inuit employment or 56 percent; we have the lowest figure.
Mr. Curley (interpretation): Yes, I like that idea.
I just want to ask a question now.
What about the turnover rate of Inuit employment?
Do you have an idea of which ones have a higher turnover rate; is it Inuit employees or non-Inuit employees or are they sort of similar because it’s a lot more expensive to hire non-Inuit.
Has there been a cost comparison on the non-Inuit and Inuit employees?
I am pretty sure that if you bring in southern employees up here that there’s a lot of money being spent for their relocation.
So have you made a comparison in writing between the non-Inuit and Inuit employee turnover?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): I will get my assistant deputy minister to respond to that question.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
We maintain the retention in turnover rates for the entire Government of Nunavut.
At this point, we didn’t break it out by beneficiaries/non-beneficiaries although that would be something that we could definitely look at.
With respect to surveys on salaries, I don’t believe there’s any data pertaining to average salaries of beneficiaries or non-beneficiaries, but that could also be captured.
With instruction from our minister, we have begun to anticipate ways in which we could get that information to the members.
Mr. Curley (interpretation): Yes, thank you.
I think that information would be within the department because we figured that it would be better to have Inuit employees or northerners then the turnover rate would be lower.
So, for that reason, that if the department could have the statistics done it would be good.
Mr. Chairman, the obligations of the department is good, but although I would like to be able to get the information on the turnover rates of the Inuit or non-Inuit and I am in support of the minister because the Inuit are starting to have more employment within the government.
You have to be sensitive to work within the government for the sake of the Inuit.
We are on D-9.
Total Operations and Maintenance. $4,407,000, do you agree?
D-10.
I have two questions on that page. (interpretation ends) Expenditures on Training.
The department business plan page D-19 indicates that the Government of Nunavut made an audit of training expenditures by the department was to have been completed by March 31, 2004.
This was to quantify the amount of investment in training across the public service.
What are the results of this audit?
Will its results be tabled in the Legislative Assembly?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Yes, I will get my deputy minister to respond to that question.
The study has been done already, and this week we have worked with the Department of Finance this week and we will be having a meeting with them in this regard, and we will also meet with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated in regards to Article 23 Bilateral Working Group, and we will provide it in this house as soon as they are...they have been completed, we will have to just table it.
The programs, which ones, with those programs, which ones are going well and which ones are not? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
They are doing a review on that right now because they are doing different reviews right now.
What we are doing is all of the money that has been use for training is what we’re identifying right now.
Some people that went to school in Nunavut and outside of Nunavut and whether they were taking professional development or where they were having a workshop or conference; those of types of things that we are doing right now; reviewing how much money was used for various programs.
So, it will be in the information.
Can you shut off the microphone?
Thank you. Are you done, Mr. Barnabas?
We’re on D-10.
Mr. Curley (interpretation): This division, Training and Development, is a various division of the Department of Human Resources; providing professional employees is part of this division.
We never used to talk about professional; exactly what does it mean because a lot of them usually need more workshops.
I think I mentioned this before in one of the departments because some people were complaining and they don’t know who to complain to.
I think there should be another workshop to deal with teamwork whether they are non-Inuit or Inuit.
Sometimes their relationship is not adequate.
So for that reason, I wonder what the opinion of the department is in regards to employee relations not just to have an ad-hoc basis, but have a real working relationship.
I will get my deputy minister to answer it.
The member’s question is not in training and development, but it’s in employee relationship and all the departments can ask for that type of training from our department.
We are quite open and we would like to be able to go to any community at anytime to train employees and all the deputy ministers are the ones that are responsible for the wellbeing of their public service.
Perhaps I was in too much of a rush.
I think we’re going to be pleased tomorrow.
Chairman: We’re on D-10.
Human Resource.
Training and Development, $1,213,000.
D-11 is an information item.
D-12.
Employee Relations.
I have two questions on this page in regards to grievances.
In 2002/03 and 2003/04, Public Service Annual Report there were a total of 96 active grievances as of March 31, 2003, and 116 as of March 31, 2004.
Are the Nunavut Employees' Union and the Federation of Nunavut Teachers in agreement with the department’s Business Plan goal to implement an alternative dispute resolution process that provides options to the current grievances procedure.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Yes, the Nunavut Employees' Union and our department have not had any discussions on that yet as to how they would be a resolution on.
At this time, I have informed my staff that they should be looking into an alternate dispute resolution process that is reflective of Inuit culture.
That’s the type of things that we have not consulted the union as yet.
Just to make it clear, say, for instance, if I’m not happy with the amount of money that I’m receiving from the government, I could have one grievance.
If I was late to come to work and then they take an hour off my pay, those little bits and pieces of grievances are the ones that we hear about, not the major ones.
Such things as how Inuit can be retained by the government departments, we have this review that we have been doing to make it more Inuit related in the workplace.
So, those are the types of things that we would bring to the Nunavut Employees' Union.
What kinds of those types of things would the department want to talk to about with the Nunavut Employees' Union?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): At this time I cannot really say but I have seen some information.
After going through it I had to give it back to make improvements because it’s in the process of being improved.
The current Collective Agreement between the FTN and the Government of Nunavut expires on June 30, 2005.
One of the department goals is to negotiate a new Collective Agreement with FTN.
What is the status of the negotiations between the Government of Nunavut and the FTN?
What increases is the Union asking for and what is the government’s position.
As government, we have only identified who will be negotiating because their contract expires this year.
At this time, I can’t give you a definite answer as to how it will be.
First of all, they have met from March 10 to 14 from Government of Nunavut and the employees.
From April 21st to 25th, they will be having another meeting.
So we figure May 26 to 27 they should have agreements on how they will going to deal with that.
So at this stage, we are nearly figuring out who the negotiators will be.
The department’s Business Plan specifically states that high absenteeism and turnover requires development of redeemable strategies according to information contained in the department’s Return to Written Question 14 – 2(2).
The absenteeism rate across the Government of Nunavut doubled between 2002/03 and 2003/04.
In fact, it doubled again in the first six months of 2004/05.
What factors account for the increased absenteeism rate across the Government of Nunavut?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): People might think that maybe it’s for one person or that happens with a very small number of employees.
For example, if that employee is absent from work then they total it from the days, it could be the same person.
The people with grievances; they try and help those employees to solve their problems to assist them.
We try and work with the departments and have discussions with them as to how to prevent people from being absent because that costs money to the government.
So we are trying to find alternate ways of how we can assist them more.
Maybe my deputy minister can respond to that more.
At the time when this question was raised, it was raised only for six months and the portion before that was used.
If you look at this; that was six months, it was to show that we just double that from six months so it doubled.
So we used that figure to give an estimate because that’s mainly to look at it annually.
What are the plans when they are reviewing how to decrease that absenteeism within the government?
The absenteeism that was mentioned, there’s a very small percentage of employees who are absent.
We don’t know what their reasons are or if they don’t go to work for three weeks so the department we have to work together and try to find out as to why they are not attending work.
The policies we have in the departments, we want to inform the departments that these employees have to be at work.
If they don’t then you’ll have to show on paper that they are absent so we’re expecting that this new form will be able to explain to us more why they don’t show up for work.
Mr. Curley (interpretation): Under D-12, my question, Contract Services, and its $447,000.
What was it used for, that it is so high?
Is it an ongoing contract?
Or discretionary, can you explain that to me.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Yes, it was mainly for the bargaining unit and for grievances where some employees were let go.
As a government, we have to consult with lawyers to explain to the past employees who have been go.
This year there has been, there is are negotiations coming out with the teachers and for people who had grievances.
That figure shows mainly for those things that we expect to spend.
I believe he is $447,000, my deputy can add to that further.
Chairman (interpretation): Did you wish to add?
Ms. Okpik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To clarify, the grievances, when there are grievances, we have to bring an arbitrator and there is a Union because they have made agreements that there is arbitrators we have to pay for their airfare, accommodation.
We didn’t spend that much last year and for if we expected to have an arbitrator from outside of government to negotiate but we ended up using one of our employees.
We have to prepare for those because we can never know exactly how many we’re going to have.
Just on the employee relations end of things and then reviewing the information that was provided in the written question on dismissals and suspensions.
I’m just wondering, you get in line with usually grievances follow before that and I’m just wondering how many grievances the departments had to date.
Ms. Okpik: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The figure is still the same, 116 grievances.
Mr. Chairman, on the suspensions that went from April 1st to September 30th, there were three.
I’m just wondering if there has been any more of those.
The figure is still the same but we can check into it further to see if there are more then I will be able to say.
I’m just wondering for people on suspension, are there any specific areas, whether we look at your frontline administrative workers, is it your IT people or what kinds of areas do they look at where these suspensions do they look at if they’re common in coming up in any particular category.
I’ll let my assistant deputy minister explain this further.
No, we don’t maintain that data but it’s easy to get if the number of suspensions are fairly small.
It would not be hard to gather that data.
I’m just wondering if there has been any observation made by the department for dismissals or suspensions or things like that have been internet related or related to communications or electronic information highway or that kind of thing.
I know now, you hear of stories all over the place where people can go any where in the world from their desk.
I’m just wondering if there have been a number of suspensions or dismissals as a result of misuse of that kind of thing.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): We can’t really say aside from the answer that the Assistant Deputy Minister just gave you but there are different reasons so we can certainly check into this.
Are there any policies or guidelines outlining computer usage and internet usage for employees to follow so they know what they can and can’t do.
Yes, the Department of Community and Government Services has a very extensive policy on the use of computers and internet.
Every Government of Nunavut employee when they sign on is informed of this and every time the website opens, the warning is also there for everyone to read.
I understand deputy ministers have the ability to request proxy reports on any employee that they suspect is misusing the internet during or after work hours.
That can be certainly investigated and sent back to deputies for decisions on whether to proceed with suspension or dismissal.
Chairman: Sounds like basic stuff.
You said they can get proxies or take a look at tracking someone’s use.
In light of that, say, John Smith writes a confidential email to a sibling or a mother or a father that lives somewhere down south and does that kind of thing potentially can get looked at, too, by the government officials whether it would be Department of Community and Government Services or Department of Human Resources or whoever.
I’m just wondering what the guidelines are there for privacy issues.
Once again, the policy resides with the Department of Community and Government Services so I’m only speaking entirely from my own knowledge of it, but I understand the emails in our system is not completely confidential, the government doesn’t spy and read people’s emails.
I was referring to internet usage when the department suspects an employee of the misuse of the internet, they can request to the Department of Community and Government Services a proxy report; that proxy report only provides the websites the employee has visited in the times that that has happened.
It does not access their email, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman (interpretation): It that it?
(interpretation ends) Thank you. (interpretation) I would like everyone to stay in the House if at all possible.
We would like to conclude our business.
We were on D-12.
Employees’ Relation.
I was listening to the response that the minister and his officials gave on the contract services and I believe, as an indication, that they didn’t use the full amount before, I guess it’s still showing that that’s in there.
How much of that is for arbitrators, I guess I’m just wondering, and how much is specifically for other contract employees?
For the upcoming year, we have $40,000 for arbitration for legal cost, for legal services $28,000, and for Federation of Nunavut Teachers and Nunavut Employees’ Union $60,000.
That’s specifically for arbitration.
We are on D-12.
Total Operations and Maintenance. $1,732,000.
Chairman: Back to page D-4.
Human Resources Department Summary.
Operations and Maintenance. $19,396,000.
Are we agreed that Human Resources is concluded?
Does the committee agree that Tabled Document 52 – 2(2) is concluded?
Mr. Minister, do you have closing remarks, Mr. Minister, briefly.
I would also like to thank my colleagues.
We are looking forward to increasing the Inuit Employment and also increasing the training and internship programs.
We are very pleased that we are getting the numbers up and we would like to make being an employee of the government friendlier and more hospitable than the present.
We are going to be working closely together with the government departments to make improvements in our department.
Also to increase the Inuit employed and to better service the people of Nunavut.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Tapardjuk for being able to be here and also your officials.
Minister of Environment, if you have opening comments.
I am pleased to be here today in front of the Committee of the Whole to present my department’s Main Estimates and Business Plans for the 2005/06 fiscal year.
(interpretation) Mr. Chairman, the Department of Environment wishes to be allocated for the fiscal year 2005/06 with $18,134,000. (interpretation ends) My department has identified a budget and business plan for fiscal year 2005/06 and that focuses on delivering our mandatory obligations and responsibilities including our Article 23 obligations under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and supporting partnership within strategic areas of our operations.
The Department of Environment has a number of specific obligations in areas of responsibilities under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement that are directly related to management of Nunavut’s resources as well as involves other national and international legal obligations and responsibilities.
This includes ongoing responsibilities for the co-management of all wildlife in Nunavut, Land Use Planning, Environmental Regulatory functions, and the responsibility for the implementation of territorial parks, Inuit Impact and Benefits Agreement among other things.
As you will see, a significant portion of our overall budget goes to ensuring that we meet those obligations.
As part of the departmental Inuit Employment Plan, we also plan to introduce the Field Officer and Training Program beginning in 2005/06.
This multi-year program will encourage the recruitment of Inuit Wildlife Officers through our northern training program, which combines seven goals for professional development within the system of training and mentoring.
Throughout our budgeting and planning for 2005/06, in all cases we have attempted to support partnership as the most efficient and cost effective approach to getting things done.
By partnering with other organizations and institutions, wherever possible, the department will maximize the impact of our dollars to increase or supplement our internal capacity.
Often a relatively small investment on part of the department with the support of much needed service for Nunavummiut.
For example, Mr. Chairman, in 2005/06 we plan to enhance our Fisheries Development and Diversification Fund.
This funds supports the development of Nunavut’s emerging fishing industry through cost-shared projects.
In 2004/05 a total of $350 thousand in funding was available through this program and it looks like we will again have successfully leveraged more than twice that amount from other sources.
As there is continuing demand for project funding under this program, in 2005/06 we intend to increase the Fisheries Development and Diversification Fund to $525 thousand.
Another example of how the Department of Environment is working cooperatively with other organizations and institutions is in the newly formed Nunavut Fishery Training Consortium.
This training program is largely funded by the Aboriginal Skills Development Canada.
This three year program was developed to prepare 150 – 200 Nunavummiut to actively participate in all facets of offshore fisheries.
The Government of Nunavut contribution for this program is $500 thousand.
In closing Mr. Chairman, I’d like to point out that the Department of Environment’s 2005/06 main estimates and business plan is well balanced is well-balanced and clearly supports the obligations and priorities of the Government of Nunavut as well as the needs of Nunavummiut.
I am confident that my department will continue to provide Nunavummiut with the highest standards of performance and accountability.
Chairman: Thank you, Mr. Akesuk.
Does the chairperson have any opening comments to make?
Mr. Mapsalak (interpretation): Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to be able to give the Committee’s opening remarks as we begin debate on the 2005-2006 main estimates for the Department of Environment.
Mr. Chairman, the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit has had the opportunity to meet with the Minister and his staff.
Mr. Chairman, the Committee noted that this is the only department that refers to Inuit Qaujimajangit rather than Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit in its business plan and commends the department for giving careful thought to these concepts.
Mr. Chairman, members continue to be concerned with staffing levels at the department’s Iglulik Wildlife Office.
The December 2004 Inuit Employment Positions report shows that 10 of the 29 vacant positions in the department were in Iglulik.
Members expect to be kept informed on the progress made in filling these positions.
Mr. Chairman, Members expect to see what the department has specifically done to implement the Climate Change Strategy for Nunavut that was adopted in 2003.
Members also look forward to updates on any new initiatives or actions that are going to be taken as a result of the recent Arctic Climate Impact Assessment.
Mr. Chairman, Members expect to be kept informed on clean up and monitoring programs for contaminated sites in Nunavut.
Mr. Chairman, the Federal Government announced that it would improve efficiencies in the management of INAC’s share of the clean-up of Northern contaminated sites that will result in the savings of $5 million per year.