EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Departmental witnesses described the types of medical terminology modules that are or will be available through Nunavut Arctic College and the standing committee encourages the Department of Health in its ongoing efforts to secure adequate funding to deliver these modules to staff who require the relevant training.
The Auditor General’s report also noted that an analysis undertaken by the department regarding the quality of a specific set of X-ray images had demonstrated that a significant amount of them were of too poor quality for diagnostic purposes, which may in part be due to a lack of skills or training.
While committee members were reassured that a follow-up quality review ensured that no diagnosis was made in error with any long-term health effects, members noted that this type of circumstance posed a liability risk.
With the introduction of new diagnostic imaging technology in the future, the standing committee stresses the importance of adequate and ongoing training in this area and encourages the department in its efforts to ensure that both lay staff and nursing staff at community health centres receive appropriate training and that the delivery of such training is duly recorded and monitored.
That the departments of Health and Finance continue to work together to improve the staffing process for health care professional positions and ensure that the newly developed Health Professional Recruitment and Retention Strategy addresses the need to retain staff within our communities.
Mr. Speaker, members expressed some concerns regarding the length of time it is taking the departments of Health and Finance to complete the process of filling vacant positions within the Department of Health.
The role of nurses in community health centres in particular is critical to delivering adequate health care services at the local level.
Recognizing that there is a shortage of nursing professionals across the country, it was felt that greater efforts must be made to provide more competitive salaries and benefits for indeterminate health care professionals as well as taking opportunities to recruit health care professionals who may be working on a short-term basis but have expressed an interest in remaining to work in Nunavut on a full-time basis.
That the Department of Health provide regular updates on the development and implementation of its new “Model of Care” service delivery model to Members of the Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, as I noted in my comments earlier, the Department of Health’s Model of Care Initiative will provide opportunities to focus on many of the issues raised in the Auditor General’s report and addressed by the committee during its proceedings.
Members appreciate that the department has initiated conversations with such entities as Nunavut Tunngavik as part of its consultation on how health care service delivery can best meet the needs of Nunavummiut.
The committee strongly urges the Department of Health to provide Members of the Legislative Assembly with regular updates on any organizational changes or changes in how health care services will be delivered at the community level.
In closing, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Independent Officers and Other Entities recognizes that the Department of Health has recently been subject to a number of audits and reviews.
The standing committee fully appreciates the effort and dedication of departmental staff in providing comprehensive input to these initiatives.
Given current capacity challenges within the health service system, standing committee members recognize that participating in such audits not only increases the workload of departmental staff but pulls them away from their primary roles in delivering health care services to the people of Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, this standing committee report highlights key issues raised by the Auditor General’s report on health care services in Nunavut and includes recommendations for the government’s consideration.
Pursuant to Rule 91(5) of the Rules of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, the standing committee requests that the government provide a comprehensive response.
In conclusion, I move that the report of the standing committee be received by the House.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) The member has moved that the report be received by the House.
Tabled Document 319 – 4(3): Photographs of Decommissioned Airport Terminal Building in Sanikiluaq (Rumbolt)
Today I’m tabling a couple of photographs of the decommissioned airport terminal building in Sanikiluaq, which I encourage all members to review.
Mr. Speaker, the photographs clearly show the need for this structure to be remediated and removed.
Hon. Member for Netsilik, Mr. Emiliano Qirngnuq.
Tabled Document 320 – 4(3): Exchange of Correspondence with the Minister of Justice Concerning Firearms Safety Training (Qirngnuq)
The issue of firearms safety training is very important to Nunavut communities.
I am pleased today to table my recent exchange of correspondence with the Minister of Justice concerning firearms safety and education training programs in Nunavut, which I encourage all members to review with care.
Bill 47 – An Act to Amend the Legal Profession Act – Notice
Hon. Keith Peterson: Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Tuesday, June 6, 2017, that Bill 47, An Act to Amend the Legal Profession Act, be read for the first time.
Bill 48 – An Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act – Notice
I give notice that Tuesday, June 6, 2017, that Bill 48, An Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, be read for the first time.
Bill 49 – An Act to Provide for Elections for Municipal Councils and District Education Authorities – Notice
I give notice that on Tuesday, June 6, 2017, I will move that Bill 49, An Act to Provide for Elections for Municipal Councils and District Education Authorities, be read for the first time.
I seek the consent of the House to waive the notice period so that Bill 49, An Act to Provide for Elections for Municipal Councils and District Educations Authorities, can be read for the first time.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) The member is seeking consent to allow for Bill 49 to be read for the first time today.
Bill 49 – An Act to Provide for Elections for Municipal Councils and District Education Authorities – First Reading
I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Cambridge Bay, that Bill 49, An Act to Provide for Elections for Municipal Councils and District Education Authorities, be read for the first time.
I seek the consent of the House to waive the notice period so that Bill 49, An Act to Provide for Elections for Municipal Councils and District Education Authorities, can be read for the second time.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) The member is seeking consent to allow for Bill 49 to be read for the second time today.
Bill 49 – An Act to Provide for Elections for Municipal Councils and District Education Authorities – Second Reading
I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Cambridge Bay, that Bill 49, An Act to Provide for Elections for Municipal Councils and District Education Authorities, be read for the second time.
The bill amends the Nunavut Elections Act to provide for the conduct of elections for municipal councils and district education authorities in a manner similar to territorial elections.
Elections Nunavut will supervise the administration of these elections.
The Local Authorities Elections Act, which currently governs these elections, will be repealed.
This bill also makes [consequential] amendments to the statutes relevant to those elections to implement this change, namely, the Cities, Towns and Villages Act, the Conflict of Interest Act, the Education Act, the Hamlets Act, the Justice of the Peace Act, the Public Service Act, and the Settlements Act.
The motion is carried and Bill 49 is referred to the Committee of the Whole as it is a House Bill.
I wish to go back on the order paper to Item 5.
Speaker: The Member for Baker Lake wishes to go back to Item 5. Are there any nays?
There are none. Mr. Mikkungwak, you may proceed.
I would like to recognize a visitor in the gallery. (interpretation) He has many relatives in Baker Lake. I would like to welcome Robert Tookoome, who is now living in Iqaluit…Toronto?
He moves quite a bit, but he has many relatives in Baker Lake. I would like him to be seen by his relatives and also welcome him to the House.
Speaker (interpretation): Welcome to the gallery. (interpretation ends) Item 19.
Bills 27, 39, 45, 46, and 49 with Mr. Enook in the Chair.
In accordance with the authority provided to me by Motion 47 – 4(3), the committee will stay in session until it reports itself out.
Before we continue with the Committee of the Whole, we will take a 20-minute break.
>>House recessed at 16:00 and Committee resumed at 16:23
Before we begin our meeting, our fellow Nunavummiut watching the televised proceedings and listening to the radio broadcast, welcome to your committee.
In Committee of the Whole we have the following items to deal with: Bills 27, 39, 45, 46, and 49.
We wish to commence our review of Bill 45, Bill 49, and Bill 39.
Members, are we in agreement that we first deal with Bill 45?
I would like to ask Minister Peterson if he has officials that he would like to join him at the witness table.
I would like two witnesses to join me.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you. Minister Peterson would like two witnesses to join him. Do you agree?
Minister Peterson, for the record, please introduce your witnesses. Minister Peterson.
Hon. Keith Peterson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my right is Jeff Chown, Deputy Minister of Finance, and to my left is Sherri Rowe, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Transportation.
Mr. Chown and Ms. Rowe, welcome to the House.
We have Bill 45 in front of us. We were on page 15 on Friday and we will continue. Mr. Rumbolt.
I apologize for requesting this, but I wasn’t here last week and you are on page 15 of this bill.
I’m requesting permission to go back to page 12 and ask a couple of questions on the Sanikiluaq water infrastructure carryover.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you. As Mr. Rumbolt wasn’t here, he would like consent to go back to page 12.
Mr. Rumbolt, if you have questions on page 12, you now have the floor.
Thank you, colleagues. I just have three questions that I want to ask here. Your department is proposing to carry over $625,000 to continue the design phase of the treated water storage tank to Sanikiluaq’s existing water treatment plant.
Can you tell us when your department plans to bring the construction phase of this project forward?
With your permission, I would like to switch out witnesses.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you. Minister Peterson is asking for permission to have another witness at the witness table. Do you agree?
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort a witness out and bring in another one.
My new witness is Mr. Eiryn Devereaux, who is the Acting Deputy Minister of Community and Government Services.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you. Mr. Devereaux, welcome to the House. (interpretation ends) Mr. Rumbolt, might I ask you to repeat your question so that Mr. Devereaux will hear it properly.
I was asking the department with their proposed carryover of $625,000 to continue the design phase of the treated water storage tank in Sanikiluaq’s existing water treatment plant. I’m wondering if they can tell us when the department plans to bring the construction phase of this project forward.
I’ll ask Mr. Devereaux to answer the question.
Mr. Devereaux: Mr. Chairman, the targeted commencement of that would be summer of 2018.
Mr. Rumbolt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Also from my understanding, Sanikiluaq’s current water truck fill rate is at about 600 or 700 litres per minute, which is slow. As a result, it may be affecting the chlorine content required to disinfect potable water.
According to the substantiation sheet for this project, the current minimum flow rate that is acceptable across the NWT and Nunavut is 1,000 litres per minute.
However, even that rate is based on standards and criteria from 1993.
Can you indicate if the government plans to reassess that minimum flow rate in the near future?
Yes, we will look at that through the course of the next 12 months as we proceed on this project and prepare for construction to commence in the summer of 2018.
Aside from having the new storage tank, can you clarify if any other upgrades or additions will be made to Sanikiluaq’s water treatment plant through this project?
Again I’ll ask Mr. Devereaux to answer that question.
I don’t have the exact scope of design detail, so I’m unable to provide that feedback to the member right now.
We will now go back to page 15.
The next person on the list that was going to go first today is Mr. Joanasie.
On page 15, following up on the Grays Bay Road and Port Project, it says completion for the environmental and engineering activities for $2 million.
Is this for the entire environmental and engineering for this project?
I’ll start off with that question.
With your permission again, I would like to bring in my new old witness.
Minister Peterson is asking for permission to bring another witness to the witness table. Do you agree?
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witness out and bring in another one.
Welcome back, Ms. Rowe.
Mr. Joanasie, so that Ms. Rowe can hear and understand your question properly, please repeat it.
The $2 million for the Grays Bay Road and Port Project, is this for the entire environmental and engineering activities for this proposed project?
This $2 million is for the early stages, for permitting and regulatory purposes, to get it ready to go to the Nunavut Impact Review Board.
This project is over many years and there will be more costs. This is just to continue to keep the project moving.
This money is just for the environmental and engineering activities, but it’s for that portion of the project and there is no other either governments or… .
I think that the Minister of Finance quoted MMG as the mining company that has spent several millions on this project.
Have they put environmental engineering money towards this project aside from what you are proposing here?
I understand from the agreement that was signed last year between the Government of Nunavut and the people in the Kitikmeot, the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, that as part of that proposal or that agreement, MMG would be willing to share environmental data that is already costing them upwards of $30 million to $40 million.
I am unaware if they’re going to put additional monies in. That is something that I am unaware of.
With that, are we, maybe, setting a precedent if we are putting this much towards a project? I mean the proponents are MMG, if I am not mistaken, but will other mining companies come to the government and say, “Hey, you have put $2 million towards this project just for the engineering or environmental assessment”?
I understand that some of my colleagues were referring to other mining projects that are operational right now, but moving forward, is this always going to be a recurring pot of money that any mining company can use in the future?
I think we need some clarification. This isn’t money going to a specific mine. I know Mr. Joanasie mentioned MMG.
MMG is a company that is doing a lot of exploratory work in the Slave Geological Province. There are many other companies in that area as well.
This will be money to support the development of road and port infrastructure in the Kitikmeot, not for a particular mine but for Inuit organizations to own and operate infrastructure that would support the development of mining in the Kitikmeot.
I appreciate the minister’s response on that.
If the Government of Nunavut is contributing $2 million towards this project, has the Department of ED&T and/or the government as a whole looked at… ? I understand this project is a megaproject that would involve hundreds of millions of dollars.
How much funding is the GN foreseeing that they will put towards in future capital plans?
Is there an amount that he can share with us today or even an estimate maybe?
Two million dollars is quite a bit to start off, but also given the scale of this project, is there some anticipation that there will be much more financial contributions in the future?
I can’t predict. Everybody thinks I’ve got a crystal ball and I can predict the future, but I can’t.
This $2 million is intended to allow the exploratory work and studies to continue to keep momentum underway so that they can prepare a proposal to the Nunavut Impact Review Board and other regulatory agencies.
It also sends a signal to the Government of Canada. They announced in their last budget a large pot of money that may become available.
I know it’s being fine-tuned to be available for provinces and territories with shovel-ready projects. I mentioned the other day shovel-ready projects. We will keep the momentum going and hopefully be able to access this money.
It’s very likely, depending on the outcome of the requests for funding, that they would be concurrently working on a business case to cost it all out. I have no idea what it would cost.
It costs a lot to be able to access 75 percent of federal government funding and then there may be either a request for the Government of Nunavut to kick in with money or the private sector through investors and others.
You have to remember that there’s an Inuit organization in the Kitikmeot that’s called the Nunavut Resource Corporation that will have access to investors and banking sources that they could leverage funding from people who would invest in this kind of infrastructure.
Then of course the investors are always interested in what level of interest is in the involvement of federal and territorial governments. It’s no different than a P3 type of project, but this is more of a private sector thing.
In his response I didn’t hear any figures. Does that mean there’s no future anticipated… ?
I mean of course the life of this government is five months, almost six months. We’re dealing with the five-year capital plan. Is it not anticipated that it could potentially… ?
Is it under the federal government’s radar that the GN might be putting maybe $10 million more towards this project over the next five years?
Is there any figure or anticipated estimates that the Government of Nunavut anticipates that they might spend on this project in the future?
Again, as everybody understands how the capital planning process works, the capital estimates, nothing gets spent unless the standing committee or the Financial Management Board or the Committee of the Whole approves and it has to be worked within our fiscal parameters.
Again, I can throw out ballpark figures, if that helps. The total project could be between $350 million and $500 million.
As to how much money the Government of Nunavut might kick in, I can’t say because that will depend on the business plan that would be put together, I believe, by the Inuit partners more likely and they would go to the Government of Canada. They would go to the private markets.
There could be money from the Government of Nunavut or maybe not. We will see.
I’m trying not to speculate and give hypotheticals because I have done business planning before. You don’t know until you have gathered all your data, then you complete an analysis, and you have gone around and walked around Bay Street or Wall Street and sourced out financial investors or government.
It’s premature at this time how much the Government of Nunavut might be putting in, Mr. Chairman.
Moving on to a different project under this page, the relocation of Pangnirtung’s airport, you’re carrying over $529,000 and it talks about the relocation for Kimmirut’s airport.
Are you able to say, I guess in comparison to Pangnirtung’s airport, how far along is Kimmirut’s, looking at the scope of this project and comparing it to Kimmirut’s proposed project to relocate their airport?
Can I get a comment from the minister and/or maybe the Minister of ED&T if the Minister of Finance can’t respond?
As you know, we have been working with the community of Kimmirut on the relocation of the Kimmirut Airport.
As like anything else, most things come down to money. Just like Pangnirtung, it has been ongoing for many years.
We have to get to that point where we start looking for funding and determine how we can fund these things because the relocation of any airport is a very expensive thing. We will continue to work towards doing the studies, the planning, and also then eventually for the capital dollars to make it happen.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) Can I remind people to make sure you’re lit before you start speaking?
Yes, I understand it boiling down to money, but also in terms of moving projects forward, we need to... .
I know ED&T has done a site study in Kimmirut on the proposed project. This project in Pangnirtung has reached that point or beyond.
I’m just trying to figure out how different these two projects are or comparing them, I guess.
Also with that, have you been approaching the federal government on their potential contribution to either Pangnirtung’s or Kimmirut’s airport relocation projects for that matter?
Yes, we have been working with the federal government, discussing our needs every chance we get to let them know that these are priorities for the Government of Nunavut and we continue to search out funding for them.
Can I get a response on what this part of the carryover of $529,000 for Pangnirtung’s airport will be used?
It was indicated the other day that that’s to allow them to continue doing some further work on weather data collection, and then from there continue to narrow down the preferred location.
Mr. Joanasie: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for that answer.
I recall now that in narrowing down a location for a new airport in Pangnirtung, you had said that there are several options being looked at.
I had the privilege of inviting Minister Ell-Kanayuk to Kimmirut and we looked at a site for a potential new location for Kimmirut’s airport.
Also with that there were, I believe, four or five options that were looked at and I think that’s narrowing it down quite a bit.
How many options are being looked at in Pangnirtung?
It would be all right if you put these lights up a little higher for us.
Mr. Chairman, I’ll ask Ms. Rowe to answer that question.
Initially, going back to 2004, for Pangnirtung there were six options. Where we’re at right now is there is a preferred option and that’s the site that we’re going to be doing further weather data collection of.
This study that’s going to happen is more about the cloud ceiling. That’s really the preferred site, but we have to make sure that the weather data supports that. That’s why we’re saying that’s the preferred site but not the final site until we have the science to back that up.
Once that weather data collection has been completed and you find out it’s not a suitable site, what’s your next option?
I would have to say that they go to their second preferred site and then do the same.
Maybe the Pangnirtung Airport can get a new location in Kimmirut.
That’s just on the lighter side.
In my last few seconds, I’m going to move on to a different project, which is the MVIS, Motor Vehicle Information System. $4,840,000 is being carried over.
I understand that this is a multi-year project and it’s going to be phased into the communities. How soon do you expect communities to be seeing the actual equipment and being able to receive your new either government IDs or driver’s licences in the communities?
I will ask Ms. Rowe to answer that question.
Right now we’re about halfway through the project. As per the equipment, that will probably be starting in the fall that we will start having to visit each community with the equipment and get it set up, but it will still be a while before it can be used.
We are on Economic Development and Transportation. Capital. Not Previously Authorized.
Page 15. Mr. Keyootak.
I have a short question on this one item.
It relates to the runway/apron rehabilitation in Clyde River. I would like to ask exactly what work will be done.