EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
As soon as the hamlet council reports a problem to our department and ask for support, we immediately try to find out what the problem is and how we can provide support to the community.
The situation became critical during the Christmas holidays in Pond Inlet and I know that as a fact. I know because I am resident in the community.
Furthermore, your department is aware that the municipality hasn’t been able to hire a qualified mechanic. Even with that knowledge and the rising crisis, why didn’t your department send a mechanic to Pond Inlet?
Even with the escalating problems, why didn’t your department send a mechanic at the first sign?
Did you have to wait for a formal notification from the hamlet about the need for assistance by waiting for the declaration of emergency to send your mechanic?
That was your department’s reason for delaying the arrival of the mechanic?
Actually, the process is that once a hamlet notifies the department about the inability of the municipality to deal with it, we immediately try to mitigate it.
Nonetheless, in terms of a (interpretation ends) timeline, (interpretation) if the member wishes to get more details, Mr. Chairman, with your discretion, if you can allow my deputy minister to respond, he can provide more details on this issue.
First of all, I think it’s got to be quite clear where some of the responsibility lies other than with the Department of Community and Government Services. The municipalities are responsible for the management and delivery of their waste management problems.
Municipalities collect user fees and they also receive a subsidy from the GN to manage that program to ensure that it is sustainable.
The preventative maintenance of those vehicles certainly rests with the responsibility with the municipality.
In a situation where they have major issues with the programs and services, they do contact Community and Government Services. They contacted us in December seeking assistance to get a transmission from one of the trucks that were down.
Our department did work with the municipality to order that transmission and we did get it in the community within a two- to three-week period.
Subsequent to that, there were further breakdowns of the equipment that led to the situation.
What I’m saying is that moving forward, based on our organization, we were aware that we were not providing the proper support back to the municipalities, so now we have three program managers that will be visiting communities on a regular basis.
They will be looking at the vehicles in the communities and other assets to make sure that they are being maintained by the municipalities.
I also wanted to inform the member that we are currently taking a comprehensive review of the water and waste management subsidy program to determine whether the existing program is sustainable and that if we need to be able to look at other means to increase revenues to make sure that those programs can be sustained.
Chairman: Thank you. Just a friendly reminder to members, we are on Main Estimates 2015-16.
If you feel I am out of line with my questioning, you can stop me at your discretion.
Let me start with this preamble prior to raising my question. I am completely aware of the fact that as communities, we too have a responsibility to provide services. I actually know of this fact and the hamlet is knowledgeable of this responsibility.
Even if a condescending reminder from bureaucrats is felt to be appropriate, I seriously doubt that. Many of us have complete understanding of our municipal roles.
Nevertheless, when a community reaches the end of their capacity, we tend to request further assistance to meet our responsibilities to territorial departments that may have that capacity.
That’s the only thing I am trying to question here and I am not trying to insinuate that a hamlet should be whittled down to the barest essentials. I have never made the statement that the hamlet is not culpable. That is something I have never stated.
What I am trying to understand is: at what point does your department act upon when a community is being challenged by forces beyond their control?
I am not looking for a scapegoat, so don’t get your dander up. I’m just trying to understand where this fell through the gaps when a community is being faced with an emergency, which level is responsible for a particular aspect, especially when it reaches emergency levels.
I wasn’t pointing a finger of blame with that pointed question, only in getting a clear response.
If your officials seriously think that the blame lies with them, (interpretation ends) so be it. (interpretation) If that is the extent of your departmental officials’ skin thickness, then I can’t change how you will take these comments. I wasn’t even intending to yet place blame on your department.
With that being the case, communities do reach the end of their capacity to keep their vehicles running, in our case, not one single service vehicle was running on some days. Yesterday or the day before, when questions were raised by our colleague, perhaps by the member from Sanikiluaq, where they face an emergency with all of their fuel trucks disabled. Your department seems so intent on bypassing the problems we ran into in Pond Inlet.
I, too, wish to pass over that hurdle, but this is the point. I believe you and I can both learn from this challenge. I know your officials may be tired of this poignant reminder, yet I think they need the lesson most of all.
Your department also announced the creation of three positions after that particular episode or perhaps they were already on the chart, but what exactly will be the duties of the positions that will now go to the communities?
I also thank my colleague for his comments and questions.
I am not insinuating that we are being blamed, as our work in this House is to resolve the issues we are faced.
I appreciate your comments about that,
With respect to the member’s last question, the three positions will be as monitors. At least that is how I say it in our Inuktitut dialect. When the staff members in these positions travel to the communities or if they are asked to provide assistance by the hamlet council or administrators, their role is to assist them in any way.
For example, if they are asked to look at a specific aspect, perhaps to look at this, that, or the other and whether they can inspect all of the elements upon their arrival to the community, that is how we see these inspectors as having the capability to provide assistance wherever needed.
Let me briefly touch on this question within the same category. What I want to completely understand is that in the case when our community underwent an emergency crisis situation with the majority of the service vehicles in disrepair or broken down, who is the final authority in community emergencies?
Is it the hamlet councillors?
When your department has been notified that an emergency situation is arising, will you not even urge the hamlet to declare a state of emergency? Will you never nudge a community even with all of your expert bureaucrats that a local emergency requires a declaration of emergency?
Is the hamlet the only authority that can make that declaration?
That is what I want to clearly understand.
Chairman: Thank you. Hon. Minister, Mr. Sammurtok
Hon. Tom Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Actually, the hamlet employees, such as the SAO, the (interpretation ends) foreman (interpretation) under the administration, or the council and mayor can make that notification to the department during an emergency.
As soon as we’re notified, we respond at the earliest opportunity or send assistance.
Community members know and understand how things are in their communities. The local municipal authority can declare a state of emergency.
This matter is fairly clear, so let me move to another subject.
I mentioned in my statements that even when our community passed the hurdle of an emergency, another problem will arise related to the cleanup within our community of Pond Inlet. Cleanup work will be required near the edges of our homes, wherever the spillage occurred. I briefly recall your statement, but I would like an actual example of how this will occur.
I believe the minister or Mr. Green mentioned that this is what your department will do in collaboration with another department.
I want more information since a major cleanup is required in Pond Inlet. What exactly is involved in this situation?
I just want more information on that process, and that will be my last question.
Yes, when this was first raised, my response was that we are preparing the plans for this cleanup in Pond Inlet. I concur that is definitely a requirement.
We have to work with the health and environmental officials to ensure we meet all requirements, especially the best way to conduct this exercise.
Obviously, health concerns arise and we don’t want any impacts when the cleanup occurs.
That is what we have planned to deal with this, but the hamlet will also be consulted prior to this work.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you very much. (interpretation ends) I have recognized a number of my colleagues on more than one occasion. We are on Branch Summery. Community and Government Services.
Community Services. Total Operations and Maintenance, to be Voted. $81,945,000.
While on this subject, I want to ask a question on a prior report that I will use as a basis for my question.
In the 2014-17 business plan, there is a statement that in fiscal year 2014-15, a review will be completed for the (interpretation ends) Office Space Strategy. (interpretation) This is slated for completion in this year and consultations occurred in March for office space requirements.
What is the situation at this time and which communities have been consulted?
We have not completed visiting all the communities. Respecting the review for the office space requirement, it was completed and submitted to the Deputy Ministers’ Committee for review.
Once that is done, we can deal with the recommendations stemming from that process.
This will probably be my last question on this topic.
Perhaps the report was completed based on the report, but I doubt it looked at every one of the details. Has your department learned anything from this review about office space requirements in Nunavut?
Once that report was completed, it was clear that government offices have to change. If it is okay with you, Mr. Chairman, (interpretation ends) my deputy minister (interpretation) can give you more details.
I concur with what the minister said, that the report did, indeed, indicate that there is significant office space shortage across the territory.
Based on the outcome of the study now, the next stage is for us to develop a strategy to determine the funding requirements and how we are going to approach the office space shortage in the communities.
We will tackle some of the smaller communities that really don’t have any office space, but those are the sorts of things that we will develop in the strategy and try to come up with some sort of priority method to address the shortages going forward.
We are on Branch Summary. Community and Government Services. Community Services.
As I indicated, I have recognized a number of my colleagues on more than one occasion.
Total Operations and Maintenance, to be Voted. $81,945,000.
We are now on Community and Government Services. Branch Summary. Informatics Planning Services.
Total Operations and Maintenance, to be Voted. $31,100,000.
A little bit of some of my questions on this category may be a little bit long-winded, Mr. Chairman.
Last year, I had asked the minister a question during the same proceedings that at that time, there was an approximate increase in this budget line for the Informatics Planning Services Division of about $4 million.
At that time, the response was to provide the new funding increase as related to new funding of IT bandwidth and the internal relocation of funds for IT.
In the minister’s opening comments on page 5, the last paragraph going into page 6, it speaks to the commitment “to strive to improve telecommunications” as a whole and that “This commitment has allowed the government to build telecommunication infrastructure capable of managing over three times the amount of bandwidth since 2010 to improve program and service delivery.”
It continues to say, “With forward-thinking and new technologies, CGS will continue enhancing our telecommunications network to provide even better government services to Nunavummiut.”
Before I get really started on my questions and some of the detail that I’m going to be asking, within that line, it states that the infrastructure is “capable of managing over three times the amount of bandwidth…” Is that currently at its maximum capacity?
We’re on page J-6. (interpretation ends) Hon. Minister, Mr. Sammurtok.
Indeed, the bandwidth used by the government is at the maximum capacity and the limit has been reached at this time.
Just for clarification, I was a little unclear in that response.
Is the current infrastructure that was used to increase the bandwidth need at its full capacity?
Hon. Tom Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) No.
On that same budget line for this upcoming fiscal year, although it’s miniscule, the amount is basically the same; it’s a slight decrease.
With that in mind, I’m not anticipating to see a much more active increase in available bandwidth across the territory.
Would that be a correct assumption, Mr. Chairman?
I thank the minister for that short and sweet response.
Mr. Chairman, I have a number of documents in front of me starting from the NCIS report, the Nunavut Connectivity Implementation Strategy, and also a report called “Improving the Northern Connectivity Deficit.”
Maybe if the Chairman will indulge me, I’ve got a couple of quotes in there, one being from the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper, speaking to a Digital Canada 150 document that was set out from the federal government.
A couple of brief quotes from the Prime Minister, it says, “Recent years have offered us a glimpse into the incredible power of digital technologies to improve the quality of our lives, the productivity of our business and the strength of our economy.
That’s why we are presenting Digital Canada 150, a bold plan to guide Canada’s digital future.
It sets out a vision of what Canada can achieve by the time we celebrate our 150th anniversary in 2017.”
In that document, I see one line that really jumped out at me and it talks that “The policy approaches to northern connectivity have not assisted in creating vibrant economies nor safe, healthy and prosperous communities in Canada’s North.”
Mr. Chairman, as I’m sure all of us have experienced in our own communities with the speed and the availability of bandwidth, it goes to say that arctic residents must have reliable, affordable communications infrastructure to engage in 21st century opportunities.
Many communities’ long-term survival will depend upon it.
Mr. Chairman, I touched on this a little bit with the Minister of Economic Development and Transportation from an economic development standpoint for medium to small businesses, but in the Nunavut Connectivity Implementation Strategy, it suggests minimum standards as a start point of accessibility of telecommunications of 9 megabytes per second download and 1.5 megabytes per second upload.
I’m not going to bore everyone with the details. Not that I’m picking on NorthwesTel, but it was the easiest information to amalgamate for myself.
At the current maximum package available in Nunavut, which is almost two times less than the minimum standard on download and almost three times less than the minimum standard of upload, and when we’re talking about gigabytes of usage per month, just as a comparable to our neighbours to the west in the Northwest Territories, their package, of which is less than 80 percent of our cost, has 20 times megabytes per second download, 10 times the upload speed and 10 times the gigabyte per usage.
I’m not sure about the rest of the members or everyone in Nunavut, but I can tell you that my monthly bill, having two children in the school and looking up information and videos and gaming, we all have to have a little bit of fun in life too, exceeds the capacity every month.
With some of the issues that I have brought up with the Minister of Education on the Community Access Program to computers and the need that is expressed throughout our communities, I would like to get some information from the minister on how and what the plan is to move forward so that we can actually join the 21st century.
Hon. Tom Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) Thank you for that question.
We have been involved in discussions with the service providers to see how our services could be improved. We have also attended the CRTC hearings where we have expressed our concerns with the way some of the services are being provided by our service providers.
However, if I may, if it’s okay with you, I would like to ask my deputy minister to elaborate on my comments. (interpretation) Thank you.
As a department, we are extremely concerned with the cost of bandwidth for the territory. It’s costing the GN almost $7 million a year for the existing bandwidth and right now with the satellite systems, it’s pretty much full, so there’s no opportunity to take a look at… . Well, we are taking a look at ways that we can move forward and see what is on the planning horizon.
We know that there will be some new satellites deployed in the coming years.
We have been in discussions with Telesat on that as well.
Also, we met with Newfoundland and Northern Quebec in Ottawa in February to take a look at fibre optic options or any ways that we can look at partnership.
One of the things that Northern Quebec and Newfoundland is looking at is trying to get a fibre-optic line from Greenland to Northern Quebec and Newfoundland. We have been invited to see if we would be interested in a partnership in that.
We’re basically working with those groups to see if there’s some way that we can work together and work with Industry Canada. They were at the table as well.
The solution to the bandwidth and the cost of telecommunications in the north is through fibre-optic cable. We’re looking at those options as well.
We have also hired a company called Gartner that is very astute in information technology to help us develop short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategies to see how we can address and be ready for any emergent technologies as they come on the planning horizon.
The existing contract for bandwidth expires in 2016, so we’re looking at getting ready for an RFP. We would like to see or find ways of bringing down the cost of bandwidth so that we can reinvest that funding back into telecommunications, so that at some point in time in the future, we can be on par with other jurisdictions.
I’ve got a whole bunch of information regarding the socio-economic impact dealing with education, business, health care, and public safety that I won’t elaborate, as I’m sure the minister and his officials are very much aware of the actual, not monetary, but the socio-economic costs that are lagging behind our neighbours to the west and the south, the situation that’s putting it in.
As a politician who listens and pays attention to some of these issues, you might want to use the industry minister’s words to our benefit, and I’ll give a quote of him from this Digital Canada 150.
“Canada has the opportunity to become a leader in this new age, but government has an essential role to play in establishing, through effective public policies, the right conditions to encourage and help Canadians take full advantage of the transformational possibilities that the digital future holds.”
The industry minister, I think, quoted in the statement, should be very open to discussing with the minister and his officials in this, but it goes even further.
When I’m talking about digital communications, again using the NCIS report, even away from the socio-economic benefits, it talks “As connectivity is enhanced in the northern Territories, it will become easier for the Federal government to transfer ‘province-like’ duties over to the Territories.
As the Territories have greater control over their economic and political destinies, being able to take greater responsibility and control over education, healthcare and social services is very important and will become even more important as the economic potential of the North is realized.”
As the cabinet and the Premier are aware, ongoing negotiations with the federal government with regard to devolution, this is going to be a critical component of Nunavut’s self-sustainability.
I see my clock is running down; I could probably go on for hours talking about this topic. I have seen some documentation coming from the minister’s department and some of the collaboration that they’re doing with these other counterparts. I understand that I’m not going to get an answer today, but I would like to get the minister’s commitment that this topic will not fall by the wayside, especially with regard to education and health care.
This is going to be a key component to our growth and being able to develop our own services to assist all of Nunavut.
Hon. Tom Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) I thank the member for his comments there.
They are very helpful. We will certainly keep that in mind in our negotiations with our counterparts in our dealings with the federal government regarding IT services for Nunavut. (interpretation): Thank you.
Branch Summary. Informatics Planning Services. Total Operations and Maintenance, to be Voted. $31,100,000.
I promise I won’t go as long-winded as I did in that last sequence.
Some of the information that I have been provided when the minister’s official was talking about limited bandwidth available on the current satellite system, from what I understand, there are bandwidth opportunities, yet it would take some infrastructure investments on the part of Nunavut.
Maybe the minister or his official could give me a little bit of a lesson on what is available and at what cost it would take Nunavut to tap into that bandwidth.
Hon. Tom Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) I personally don’t have that level of detailed information.
However, if I may have your permission, I can defer that question to my deputy minister.
Right now, there is some limited amount of bandwidth that is left on the satellites. In order for us to access it, it would cost in excess of $1 million to put some of the necessary infrastructures in place. The other costs associated would be the cost of the bandwidth per meg, which right now, I think we are paying over $660,000 per meg per month.
The bandwidth itself is another big cost component that we’ve got to factor into it as well.
Given the fact that the existing contract expires in 2016, we are taking a look to restructure our RFP so that we can find ways to bring down the cost of bandwidth moving forward.
At the same time, we still are into discussions with Industry Canada and other jurisdictions to see what other opportunities are out there for us to find ways to expand our bandwidth and bring down the cost.
Right now, it’s certainly challenging because, with the limited bandwidth and the cost to acquire bandwidth, it’s certainly a significant cost to the government.
I thank Mr. Green and the minister for that response. I understand that it is a challenge.
I do appreciate the work that has gone into it to date. I’m sure the minister and his officials are working very hard to access increased bandwidth opportunities. I understand that there will be an RFP coming out within the next year.
On this subject, at the same time, I don’t want discussions to stall out because we are waiting for the next phase of opportunity in our contract services.
My question to the minister: in his discussions with Industry Canada, is there an opportunity for assisted funding outside of our formula funding model to help bring Nunavummiut further into the advancement of technology on a short-term basis until we have a long-term solution?