EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Return 1 – 1 (2): Question 2 – 1 (2) Contract for Medical Boarding Home Services, Keewatin Health and Social Services Board and T.C. Enterprises
Hon. Ed Picco: Qujannamiik Oqaqtii.
Oqaqtii, I have a return to written question for all 23 questions asked by Mr. McLean on May 20th concerning the medical and boarding facilities in Winnipeg.
The terms of reference for the Request for Proposals were issued by the Keewatin Regional Health and Social Services Board as attached in schedule A
Supplementary documents provided to those persons who submitted proposals are attached to Appendix B. These are titled Daily Occupancy Statistics information.
This Report contains information on the number of nights and days for fiscal years for 1995- 96’ fiscal year to 1998-99 and the number of day’s for the same period
The new contract between the Keewatin Health and Social Services Board and TC Enterprises has not been finalized yet.
The terms included in that Contract will be similar to terms contained in the Request for Proposals.
The dollar amount of the Contract on an annual basis is 1 million 240 thousand 5 hundred and 22.
Over the life of the contract, July 1st, 1999 to March 31st, 2002 this amounts to a total contract price of 3 million 579 thousand and 52
The copy of criteria used to evaluate the proposals is attached as Appendix C.
These specific criteria were weighted in a final evaluation of the proposal , Mr. Speaker, as indicated in Appendix C that we have attached.
No other information was considered in the evaluation any of the proposals
The review and the evaluation of the proposals were conducted on April 14th, 1999 in Rankin Inlet.
It was done by the review committee which was composed of Mr. Keith Best, the Chief Executive Officer of the Keewatin Health and Social Services Board, Ms. Shelby Poletti Senior Finance Officer of the Keewatin Regional Health and Social Services Board, Mr. Louie Taparti of the Keewatin Inuit Association and Ms. Rose Mary Cooper, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Health and Social Services Department of the Government of Nunavut.
The contract to be awarded to TC Enterprises is an administrative matter and would not be voted on by the Keewatin Health and Social Services Board
No vote was held on this matter nor will there be any vote on this issue.
Before proceeding to a review of the proposals all members of the review and evaluation committee signed a declaration of confidentiality in which they all did declare their participation did not constitute a conflict of interest.  Mr. Speaker, before proceeding to our review of a proposal, all members of the review and evaluation committees sign a declaration of confidentiality in which they declare their participation does not constitute a conflict of interest.
The Keewatin Health and Social Services Board did not vote on this matter.
The contract is not yet signed, however it will be signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Keewatin Health and Social Services Board.
The contract has not yet been signed on behalf of TC Enterprises.
Community organizations and individuals were not consulted in respect to their preference or issues of concern.
Mr. Speaker, no the criteria established before the review was used by the review committee and determined the out come of the proposal.
Mr. Speaker the answer is No.
The answer is No.
The term of the Contract will be from July 1st, 1999 to March 31st, 2002.
Mr. Speaker I think it’s important to note that to understand the answers, I guess the Member would have to be following along with the questions originally asked and how we are responding.
TC Enterprises is operated by Mr. Anthony Chang, President of TC Enterprises.
He is assisted by Ellen McDonald Grundy, Vice President of TC Enterprises and the operation of the Winnipeg Boarding Facility, Mr. Speaker, is a joint venture with partners Lorne and Sally Kusugak of Rankin Inlet
Mr. Speaker, the resident manager of the boarding facility in Winnipeg will be Ms. Barbara E. Clarke.
And finally, Mr. Speaker, the findings of the review of this matter are that the evaluation team was satisfied that TC Enterprises could provide the quality of service our patients and their families deserve, at a price the Government can afford.
The Board’s evaluation team is charged with determining which of the proposals provided the best value.
Mr. Speaker I am confident that we achieved the correct result.
The team had to weigh many factors, including the cost to the taxpayers, quality service, and to be provided in relation to Article 24.
Our review of this matter confirms that the evaluation met these objectives.
Return to Written Question, item 9 replies to Opening Address, item 10 Petitions, item 11 Reports of Standing and Special Committees, (interpretation): 12 Report of the Committees on the Review of Bills, item 13 Tabling of Documents, 14 Notices of Motions, 15 Notices of Motions for First Reading of Bills, 16 First Reading of Bills, 17 First Reading of Bills, 18 Second Reading of Bills, 19
Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and other Matters, Bill 1Appropriation Act 1999-2000, Bill 2 Boards of Management Dissolution Act, Bill 3 Divisional Education Council Dissolution Act, Committee Reports 1-1 (2), 2-1 (2), 3-1 (2), 4-1 (2) with Mr. Puqiqnak and the Chairperson
Chairperson (Mr. Puqiqnak): (interpretation): Please be seated.
We have the Department of Culture, Language, Elders & Youth today, which is a continuation from yesterday.
It’s going on to 12 o’clock at this time but in the Kitikmeot area it’s almost 10 o’clock.
If you would like to take a break it’s up to you.
I’d like to ask the committee what their wish is at this point.
We’ll take a short break and we have to resume at 1 o’clock but again we will be eating up stairs and the food will be arriving around quarter to 12.
We will be eating here.
We will start our meeting at 1 o’clock at this point we could take a recess.
If you want to have a coffee break we will go no later than 15 minutes.
Maybe its best if we take a recess until 1 o’clock.
>>Committee recessed for lunch
Chairperson (interpretation): I hope you had a great lunch.
We are on Committee of the Whole and we do have a quorum.
Yesterday, we started with the Department of Culture Language and Elders and Youth and we will continue on with it this afternoon.
I would like to ask the Minister if he could go to the witness table.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Minister Donald Havioyak you may bring in your officials.
I would like to welcome you.
I would like to welcome Mr. Donald Havioyak and his officials.
I would like to acknowledge his officials and his Deputy Minister Peter Irniq and their Financial Controller Mr. Bain.
I apologize for not pronouncing it well.
Mr. Bain.
If you didn’t smile to each other this morning I want you to greet each other with a smile.
>>laughter
But anyhow we’ll start off.
Thank you for coming in and now we’re on general comments to his department.
We are now on general comments.
Mr. Alakannuark had read the Committee Report yesterday and the Minister responsible for this department had made his opening comments so we are now on general comments.
Deputy Minister Peter Irniq.
Mr. Irniq (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Our departments name in Inuktitut is Culture, Language, Elders and Youth.
Chairperson (interpretation): I will try and pronounce the department in Inuktitut well.
The Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth.
At this time we are on general comments.
Are there any general comments?
For the Department of Culture, Language and Elders and Youth while we are doing his department I’m sure a few more comments will come up, but first of all, I would like to say while we are dealing with the department I know that the introduction is very important because it seems like they’re talking about elders in your introduction and artifacts.
Seems like you’re focusing more on these two issues according to the way I read the opening comments.
But on our elders at this time.
How can we get more job opportunities to the elders.
How can we make the employment opportunities more available to the elders?
Such as teaching Inuktitut language and culture, I have worked on it for seven years and I know how it goes I’m quite experienced in this issue where elders and youth work together.
I realize that once elders and youth got together I realized that this was very important.
I feel that I’m looking at the amount of budget 6 million, I know it’s inadequate for the whole of Nunavut.
In order to get good use however, there is I know that I have worked with the students during the summer time trying to teach them cultural issues such as taking them out on the land during the summer and teaching them culture and tradition of Inuit.
We have also utilized the elders within the school curriculum.
Letting them tell stories and legends and we have been documenting the oral legends then that’s when I realized this issue is very, very, important to us perhaps you could focus you’re work on these issue too.
I feel that if we could include all these issues within Nunavut Government.
With the previous Government of GNWT did not really focus on culture.
So I feel that the Nunavut Government should involve the culture rather than just focusing on artifacts and we should be focusing on cultural education.
Mr. Irniq.
Did you want to make a comment to that effect.
Your comments are very true and heart warming.
We will utilize the elders and we will be continuing to create opportunities for them to work at the school perhaps at the learning centres.
We will be trying to get the elders to help the school children on culture and stories.
We will have them teach the young people how to make natural clothing.
We will be using elders to help us out when we want to recognize all their hard work that we will call them professors or professors in our schools. We want to use the elders as professors as well in schools.
We want to recognize those elders that have worked so hard on our behalf.
And did I answer your question?
Maybe I answered your question.
Yes, you answered me appropriately and I want to hear more about that because I’ve been working on this issue and we also have to realize, yes, it’s a fact.
When you said that the elders have been very useful and at times we let them do volunteer work for us in the past.
Looking at the school curriculum that has been used in the past such as sometimes the school system has been using the elders just to obtain their knowledge when it was with the previous GNWT.
We don’t want to see that happen again.
We wish to see the elders being paid under salary and I think that they should be employed under salary and perhaps by working together it can happen.
However, looking at Nunavut as a whole, their budget is quite small for Nunavut Government.
Nunavut communities it’s only 6 million dollars.
If this funding could be evenly distributed to all the communities I would be very happy.
I’m very glad that you had responded to me well.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Minister Havioyak. Please use the chairman. Mr. Havioyak.
Hon. Donald Havioyak: I’m sorry Mr. Chairman I forgot about you.
Today, Mr. Irniq can add further to that, what our department is doing so you have an idea exactly what we are doing.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Irniq.
Yes, your question is a very good question and it’s very good to hear that kind of a question being posed.
Our mandate was to help the department help the communities so that we could teach the culture and tradition in the schools.
From the beginning, from kindergarten to grade 12.
We have been planning that.
Well actually the education and our department have been planning to teach Inuktitut curriculum from kindergarten to grade 12.
Just for example Mr. Chairman, we would like to utilize the elders within our department more and we keep on saying that the government staff.
We would like see Inuit on government staff more and we keep talking about hiring Inuit more and that’s our goal too.
But we will require your support and assistance with the interested departments and we have to work with elders.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you Deputy Minister Peter.
We’re on general comments.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): I apologize for being the only person to speak to this issue but I have been working very hard on this issue.
The writing system whether it is in English or Inuktitut, I have tried to find out more about the writing system by using the students. Even we are using Inuktitut culture.
When we are using Inuktitut culture and when we teach them in alphabets its not too good because some of the students have used syllabic system and we let the students use whatever writing system they’d like to use.
But the students mainly write down their material in English when they are being taught Inuktitut culture.
I think it was last year, I worked with 35 students during the summer break and I was quite very proud of the students at that time because the small children as they are growing up.
I realised that they were getting very excited about seeing new things in their culture and I felt that it touched me, that’s when I realized its very important.
The Inuktitut instructors in the schools, they have to make their own school curriculum and that’s how they do it right now.
The teachers need more support in developing school curricula.
Perhaps using that new document that was brought up could be utilized by your department and by the Department of Education.
They should work together and work on this.
I just wanted to point that out Mr. Chairman and thank you.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank Mr. Iqaqrialu.
Hon. Donald Havioyak (interpretation): Thank you.
Do you have the records?
The item that we’re going to be using in schools for teaching young children.
I think we will be working on that shortly and we want to teach the young people how to read and write in their language.
So we will be preparing curriculum’s for the schools.
Today we are just a new government, so we are just at the preparation stage but we want to work along with the elders, we want to find out what direction we should go how we should teach the young people in the land, as well as in the schools.
Whether we teach them how to hunt and trap maybe.
Maybe work with HTA's on teaching the young people on the land programs and that.
Chairperson (interpretation): You have any other comments here.
Mr. Irniq will add further to those comments.
Thank you Mr. Havioyak.
Deputy Minister Irniq.
While we’re working towards those goals and setting up curricula for the students and teach them the Inuit traditions and culture we are going to be showing these children.
I know that Inuuqatigiit was talked about in this house which is a curriculum that was set by the Divisional Board and it's already been implemented.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Chairman for those responses.
One thing that we also have to think about because through experience I have seen how Inuit and English languages are taught in school.
If you’re using two languages in one house it deteriorates the language be it either Inuktitut or English.
So I would very strongly suggest that everything be taught in Inuktitut as a language of instruction in the schools or you’re going to be teaching students.
There should also be English only instruction in the schools because it speeds up the learning process of the students being taught in one language only of instruction and I'm very glad the Minister of Education is here to hear my remarks and I'm sure that we'll be working on it sometime in the future.
If you're going to be teaching English only instruction or Inuktitut only instruction there has to be a place for both languages.
I'm sure that its not going to be implemented right away but saying that if you teach using two languages of instruction it slows down the learning process of the students.
We have Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth here and Mr. Iqaqrialu's comments I think are more appropriate if they were directed at the Minister of Education.
None-the-less, if you want to make further comments.
Minister Donald Havioyak.
Hon. Donald Havioyak (interpretation): Is Mr. Chairman, I will be working very closely with all the departments especially Education and whichever department it would whether I feel that it would be all the departments that we have to work quite closely together concerning elders and youth.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Kattuk.
I would like to ask the question regarding elders.
While we keep hearing that the Department of Education and Social Services want to be more people friendly.
My question to this department is how close are you going to be to the elders?
If there's something in between your department and Inuit Cultural Institute.
My question Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Minister Havioyak.
Hon. Donald Havioyak (interpretation): I apologize Mr. Chairperson.
I did not quite understand the actual question.
Maybe you should say it again please.
Chairperson (interpretation): Did you want to clarify your question.
I believe that you used two languages.
You were speaking in Inuktitut could you clarify your points please Mr. Kattuk.
Mr. Kattuk (interpretation): That's why I keep asking for my own interpreter.
My question is how close are you to the Inuit Cultural Institute?
For example, is there such a structure that the Inuit Cultural Institute has to use in order to speak to your department or did they have to go through somebody before they reach your department?
Like you said you needed your own interpreter.
The Deputy Minister will be making a response to Mr. Kattuk, Mr. Irniq.
Mr. Irniq (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Chairman and the members thank you.
In response to your question I believe I got your question.
You were talking about how close the working relationship is going to be between our departments and the elders.
Within our department in the Nunavut Government we want to work very closely together with all the elders in the Nunavut area.
We would also like to use the organizations that are set up specifically for the elders to work closely with them.
One thing that we're considering at this point, or the Minister is considering at this point, is setting up a council with both elders and youth so that they will be closer to each other so that we can they can be true representatives of the elders and the youth.
Our department affects all communities in the Nunavut area when it comes to the issue of elders.
Elders are free to ask, talk to us about any questions they might have and what kind of programs are set up for the elders in regards to culture and how the elders can make contributions in regards to Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
That's for all the the elders in our communities.
Thank you Mr. Deputy Minister.
Mr. Kattuk (interpretation): I'll try again.
Some of the communities have very well established elder's societies and there are some who don't.
Is there a guideline that the elder's society will need to use in order set up a society if there is not one established in their community?
Chairperson: Mr. Irniq.
I believe I got your question.
We were asked to help our elders.
At the time we were with the Nunavut Implementation Commission we were told to set up a system with the elders and the youth in the NIC days.
Now that we have a Nunavut Government we have to help our elders in all ways that we can, that is the direction we were given when we were setting up the Nunavut Government.
There is no money available but in Cambridge Bay when the elders and youth had a meeting, there was a motion that dealt with setting up a council.
That was in Cambridge Bay.
That is the direction we would use after consideration and review by the Nunavut Government.
This is not a question but more of a comment.
A lot of our elders have passed away and when they pass they take the oral tradition and culture with them.
Possibly your department should gather the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit as soon as possible by talking to the elders and gathering that information as soon as possible.
The elders have all this valuable knowledge that they take with them when they pass away.
Their knowledge of the environment, the animals and each individual has their own knowledge and I believe that we have to gather that information as soon as possible.
That didn't sound like a question but either the Minister or the Deputy Minister may respond if you wish.
Hon. Donald Havioyak (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Yes we are quite aware of this.
Because our history is verbal only, when our elders pass away we lose this knowledge.
Right now we have staff in Igloolik who are starting to use the traditional knowledge of Inuit and the staff will be visiting elders in the community of Igloolik.
We all know that the youth are losing their culture and we are going to revive this.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you. Mr. Kattuk.
I have another question regarding the Rankin Inlet Inuit Cultural Institute.
What is happening with that now?
I believe that you are talking about the Inuit Cultural Institute?
We cannot respond to your question, as their agreement was that they get contributions from the federal government and the GNWT has several agreements in regards to archives and heritage, which are housed at the Yellowknife museum.
The Nunavut Government has not signed any of these agreements, so at this point I cannot respond to your question.
Today it has been raining and I hear thunder out there.
There's a question and before that I would like Mr. Iqaqrialu to come to the Chair.
Chairperson (Mr. Iqaqrialu) (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Puqiqnak.
While I am sitting here I would like to see no smiles.
We are into general questions for Culture, Language, Elders & Youth.
My question is for clarification on the issue of elders.
The elders in the communities, in the Nattilik region, the Keewatin and in the Baffin, there are different Inuit tribes.
In respect to the elders how are you going to address this?
That is my question Mr. Chairman.
Either the Minister or the Deputy may respond.
I will try to answer you although it will be a short response.
In respect of the elders in Nunavut.
We have always stated that without our elders we would not be here today.
The elders are our foundation as Inuit.
Therefore we are trying to develop a policy that is based on elders’ wishes, we want to hand them more responsibility based on our understanding of how the government was structured.
The elders in Nunavut, we want to ensure that they are part of our resources.
We keep citing the example of the conference in Cambridge Bay, I believe in 1988, which was a good first step for both the elders and the youth.
As we are going towards our future wherever that may be, we have to co-operate in our land and we have to utilize the elders knowledge in any way possible.
So their traditional knowledge about culture, language and our identity are the reason we need to do that.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you Peter.
Please state my name properly it is not Alakannuark, it is Alakannuark.
This is more of a comment.
In respect to your department, when we are going through this process, I know that there are other processes used by different departments, but in the past organizational structure, I think it best that we do not go to the past, but use the knowledge possessed by the elders.
If this knowledge was recorded for posterity, the Inuit people and the future generations can learn that.
That is the way it is and I feel strongly that it is important that it is being worked on.
But in this day and age our way of living from the old days because there are a lot of things now that are vastly different from the old days, from the way I grew up.
Sometime when we hear this, it touches me because when I was a young person, I felt the elders’ wisdom and that affects me all the time.
The elders have valuable knowledge in all aspects of the Inuit culture, but I also know that as an elder, either an elder has forgotten, or the elder does not know something that a younger person does know.
For example, a younger person would operate in written words but the elder would not know this as well because they operated in an oral tradition.
I think I stated it properly this time.
I understand his comments.