EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Does the minister feel that is adequate information for the DEA when they are monitoring and evaluating how their schools are doing.
The specific document the member tabled in the House, I do admit that is not adequate for the DEAs to monitor their functions.
How that came about Mr. Speaker, was when they had problems with the software and when this was provided to the principals and DEAs the original detailed information at that time could not be provided because of the difficulties they were having with the software.
As a result that information was used as an update.
But again because of the difficulties with software, the proper document was not provided.
Mr. Speaker, the minister indicated that it was a software problem.
I wonder if the DEA was informed that it was a software problem and this page of numbers that don’t mean anything, were actually something that was pared from the normal.
Will he ensure or commit to ensuring that adequate information is provided to the DEAs on a regular basis from now on.
I want to assure the members that with the upgrading of the systems that we’ve gone through over the last couple of years, that we will provide as much detail as we can to the DEAs to the best of our abilities with the computers and software that we are using today.
I will commit to making sure that my school operations in all regions will follow this guideline.
Question 370 - 1(5): Allocation of Extra RCMP Positions
Mr. Speaker, there was a press release earlier this fall that the RCMP had managed to secure I think it was 13 to 14 extra positions for Nunavut for the detachments all across Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, it’s no secret the crime rates in Nunavut are going up everywhere, especially in my community of Baker Lake with instances of alcohol.
The RCMP in my community are working very, very hard to give us a safe environment in our community.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister of Justice how they allocated the additional RCMP officers to communities.
Speaker: Acting Minister of Justice, Mr. Picco.
Mr. Speaker, the discussions that were held with the Department of Justice as well as the Federal Government represented by the RCMP was to look at two member detachments. So the allocations that were made were based primarily on having at least two members in communities' detachments.
For example, Grise Fiord increased from one member to two members and it is a safety issue.
So that’s how the allocation was initially done in consultation with the government and the Department of Justice.
I appreciate the very hard work that the Department of Justice does and I also appreciate the very hard work that the RCMP does in our communities.
But, Mr. Speaker, when they’re allocating police officers in communities I know a community like Iqaluit has 14 or 15 and they have a regional detachment of 20 or 30.
A community like Baker Lake is probably the third or fourth largest community in Nunavut.
Like I said I don’t like pulling statistics out there.
But did they think about allocating the RCMP officers by talking to the community about the active number of case files they have in the community and allocating Officers on that basis.
Mr. Speaker, one of the major factors in the allocation of resources by police detachment by community is the amount of workload or caseload that the RCMP officers would have at that department.
One of the recommendations and now it’s been implemented by the Department of Justice and your Government of Nunavut in consultation with the RCMP is to have six positions which would be based, for example, on relief duties as well as when extra resources are needed in a given community.
The other point that has been made Mr. Speaker, as I think is exactly what the member is pointing out and that is in the evaluation of the workloads at the community level for those standard basis.
So for example Mr. Speaker, we know of some communities where we had one safety issue that dictated that we have at least two members.
That has been done and we are using the six extra resource positions that are available now to do some relief work as well as compensate when the caseload is higher in the community.
It is nice to know that there are six resource positions available.
Like I was saying earlier, and like I have been saying in this House for the last couple of months, about the very successful program that they ran in Baker Lake by a constable there that has since relocated to the south.
This was the DARE program and prevention is one of the things that the RCMP like to do.
But in some communities like my own their workload makes it so hard and it is so high that they have very, very little time to do crime prevention.
I wonder if the acting Minister Responsible for Justice would look at the Baker Lake situation and see if he could have an extra constable relocated there to do crime prevention.
Mr. Speaker, that is something that I will take up with the department and advise the Deputy Minister that there is a request now coming from Baker Lake and have them contact the Hamlet and Mayor in Baker Lake directly on what seemingly the needs are.
At the same time Mr. Speaker, we have to be cognizant of the fact that the RCMP of course know what the caseloads are best in their communities, and see what type of representations are made between the department as well as the RCMP and communicate that information to the member.
Question 371 - 1(5): Artifacts Exhibition
He talked while ago about some artifacts that are out in the hall of the Assembly.
He wanted us to take a look at them whenever we can.
I just wondered which community these artifacts came from.
Did they get them from various communities.
Those archaeological exhibits came from various communities in Nunavut.
I am not really quite sure which communities each artefact came from, but if you take a look at the exhibits today you can read the information about where they were found.
So was he talking about them before he saw them, is that the case.. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We don't have the information here in front of me at this time, but if I remember correctly, there are some from Pond Inlet, and some are from Nunavik.
I think there is one item from Nunavik and Cape Dorset.
Those are some of the communities that I know of.
Question 372 - 1(5): Ensuring Patients Have Room in Boarding Homes
My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services about some correspondence that I received and I am sure he has a copy of it.
There was an individual that went to the hospital in the morning in Ottawa and then they had to leave in the morning.
I am not sure where this individual came from.
He or she had to leave and go to the hospital at the same time.
So because he had to leave that day he could not make his appointment at the clinic.
They did not want him or her to go back to the boarding home and the individual was unilingual.
So this person was invited and to go and stay overnight at the janitor's place.
So if these people are going to be treated this way it is not going to be very good for the people of Nunavut.
I just wondered what the minister has to prevent this from happening again.
Mr. Speaker, first of all the member is right that if those types of things are happening they are not acceptable.
We have received a letter from Mayor Kautak and we are in the process right now of doing an investigation on the person as well as the incidents that have been explained to us in the letter from the Mayor of Clyde River.
Mr. Speaker, the member and the Hamlet made a good point.
When issues like that happen they should be brought directly to the attention of the department so we can investigate and follow up.
None of our patients should be left behind or treated unfairly because they are unilingual.
We want to make sure that we get to the bottom of this.
Question 373 - 1(5): Funding to Replace Polar Bear Hunts
This is to follow up the comments of the Minister of Sustainable Development about the polar bear study in the M'Clintock Channel.
He said they met with the HTO.
The people had a problem with the study because they did not use Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and it says that they will be getting some funding in place of polar bear hunting.
My question Mr. Speaker is, because of the weather changes the bears are declining in that area, and because of the climate change the polar bears are always going to be declining.
So I just wondered if that is going to be happening in other communities where by they pay some money in place of polar bear hunting.
Yes, Mr. Speaker the Department of Sustainable Development and the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board and NTI will be working together to fund this jointly and try to use Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit in the study.
On the question the member asked about seeing if communities can be compensated when they cannot hunt polar bear anymore, we are going to study that by working jointly with those entities and with the communities that I mentioned. We will also be working with the communities addressing associated problems and helping out the people of Gjoa Haven in regards to what they want to do.
We will also be there so that if anything happens in the communities we will attempt to help them out with funding.
The minister stated that communities can be assisted if what happened in Gjoa Haven happens somewhere else.
Mr. Speaker, is it in their policy that they would help out the other communities that are having problems with polar bear populations.
As the Minister of Sustainable Development, I feel that we have to assist the hunters in the communities.
So what we have done is we had some funding available for the communities that might encounter problems such as the one that happened in Gjoa Haven.
We had to work with the HTO to provide some funding for the community of Gjoa Haven.
I am sure that if there was an event like this that happened in any community then we would provide some funding for them as well.
Not just for polar bears, but also the people in high arctic because of their mining closure for example.
Those are the types of things that we have in place to assist people that are encountering hardships because of the loss of their livelihood.
So if something like this happened in other communities we would do our best to provide support.
Mr. Speaker, in his response he mentioned the closure of the mines in the high arctic area, and he said that he could also give them support.
Mr. Speaker, there seems to be an increase in the number of communities that are having problems.
At times it seems that there have been cases where female polar bears have been caught unintentionally and they get penalized for it.
Their quota is decreased if they harvest a female polar bear.
It affects the whole community when they are penalized for shooting females.
If the communities get penalized then can you decide to compensate them through Sustainable Development, because of the loss of income, or because of the decreased number of polar bears.
Could the minister tell us if those communities can get financial support if they catch a female polar bear by accident.
Hon. Olayuk Akesuk: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation) I’m sure the member knows about those policies as he is older than I am and I’m sure he is well aware of the policies and regulations and so on.
We have to adhere to the rules and regulations and the member is well aware of that.
In regards to the consequences of defence kills, we do have to enforce the regulations and there’s nothing we can do about it until the rules are changed.
Supplementary. Final Supplementary. Mr. Irqittuq.
Mr. Irqittuq (interpretation): I’m very pleased that the minister called me an elder.
I am well aware of those rules and regulations.
I’m sure there are new ones coming out because of the supposed decreased population of polar bears and there is a moratorium according to the statement that he made.
Can you give financial support to the communities because it is in your rules.
Some of the communities catch their full quota and at times they have to be penalized because of the harvesting of female polar bears.
Are you going to be able to give those communities financial support.
It is because of the polar bear moratorium on the M’Clintock Channel, that there are emergency funds available and we’re able to give them financial assistance.
I’m sure that it will help out the community.
We work extremely hard to help out the communities as the Department of Sustainable Development.
We’re looking at other avenues to support the communities.
That’s what our department does.
In regards to the question the Member from Amittuq asked, about an overkill of polar bears in Igloolik for example and if we are able to give them financial support, we have no money available for that.
Oral Questions. Mr. Alakannuark.
Question 374 - 1(5): Traditional Hunting Techniques
In his minister’s statement he mentioned that they will be looking into traditional practices to do an extensive Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit study.
There are a lot of Inuit out there who harvest wildlife for sustenance and of course they’re more nutritious than southern foods.
Could the minister tell us if we’re going to be using traditional hunting techniques in the future.
Hon. Olayuk Akesuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I like your question.
I am sure that the traditional hunting techniques are still being used, we have the kakivak to catch fish, and we have the use of harpoons for the seals.
We are still using the traditional hunting tools.
I would like the member to rephrase his question and tell me exactly what he is talking about.
We have to look also at the dangers of hunting but we never know what they are going to be in the future.
We will make sure that they use their traditional hunting techniques and tools, because of course we have to think about the youth and make sure their safety is considered.
We have all heard about the individual that wanted to hunt a polar bear using a harpoon.
Could the minister tell us if he is willing to support those types of things.
Speaker: The Minister Responsible for Sustainable Development.
When I first was appointed to this portfolio and after consulting with NTI and the NWMB, I said that the Wildlife Act will have to be reviewed soon so that we can make it relevant to Nunavut.
The Members of the Legislative Assembly and the constituencies will be involved during the review of the Wildlife Act.
We could put hunting polar bears using traditional techniques in the Act.
After the review and the amendment of the Wildlife Act it will be Nunavut made.
If it is the wish of the people of Nunavut to allow hunting bears by harpoon, we could consider including that in the Act.
But of course we will have to review it very carefully before putting such clauses in the Act.
We will include NTI and NWMB in the review as well and we would like everyone to be involved.
The current Wildlife Act does not include some of the land claim agreement clauses or articles.
We will look into it and it would have to involve all of the people of Nunavut.
Speaker: Oral Questions. Oral Questions. Ms. Williams.
Question 375 - 1(5): Loss of Revenue from Carving
In my member's statement I spoke about Nunavut artists and carvers in the Kitikmeot region.
During September in my riding, the carvers received a fax indicating that their carvings were not sold in Winnipeg, and the carvers lost some money because of that.
Since the carvers are no longer selling their carvings I was wondering what kind of plans the Department of Sustainable Development have to address this.
With respect to carvers and artists sales have gone down since the September 11th tragedy in the United States. The sales of carvings and tapestries have gone down, but we want to work with the Nunavut Development Corporation more to promote artists' work.
We also took into consideration Mr. McLean’s comment about this as a suggestion for what we could do in Nunavut.
We want to promote more artwork and carvers from Nunavut.
These are in our plans for the future.
We are in support of all artists and seamstresses in Nunavut and we will be dealing with their work in the coming weeks.
I will be making a Minister's Statement and reporting to you on this issue and what we are doing for the carvers and tapestry makers of Nunavut.
We will be also supported by the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association.
We provided 150 thousand dollars last year to this association, so they can promote their work. These things are all beneficial to Nunavut residents with respect to their economic gain.
We will be in support of the arts and carvers of Nunavut communities.
I thank the minister's department for promoting artists.
He said that he will be working on it this week, and in the coming weeks.
We have been wanting more support from the Nunavut Government since before September 11th because the prices and sales of these carvings and tapestries have been going down for a while.
Art prices and sales of these carvings and tapestries have been going down.
So the artists and carvers will be expecting some support from the government.
I will work closely with the communities to find out how we can promote carvings.
The two communities I’m representing are also involved in this as well as other communities and they all feel this crunch as well.
But as the Nunavut Government we have to support the carvers and seamstresses.
We have to support their work.
We’re not sure what their future is going to be but we will do everything we can to support these artists and carvers and seamstresses.
Question 376 - 1(5): Number of Grievances Filed
Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister Responsible for Human Resources. He looks kind of bored sitting over there, no questions directed towards him.
So I guess I’ll make him feel like he’s still wanted as well.
Mr. Speaker, I think it was well over a year ago or so I asked the minister if he had an idea of how many grievances were filed against the government by the union.
I’d like to ask the minister if he has any information on the number of grievances filed against the government.
Speaker: Do you want to answer, Mr. Ng.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t have any information on that so I imagine that things are going well.
There may not be any grievances.
Mr. Speaker, I asked for information and I obtained it from the Nunavut Employees Union web site.
It talked about the number of grievances that are out there.
Mr. Speaker, in 1998 I’ll just go over some numbers here, since the minister says everything’s fine. I’ll just give you some numbers. In 1998 there were eight, 1999 again this is pre-division 38 grievances.
In the year 2000, Mr. Speaker, 76 grievances filed against the Government of Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, in the year 2001 from January to October there were already 67 grievances filed by the union.
I’d like to ask the minister if he will commit to providing me with some information in this House. The information as to why we’re seeing so many grievances, what they’re for and commit to having that type of information on hand so he can answer our questions.
Mr. Speaker, I’d be happy to provide more detail on that information once it becomes available.
Obviously the Nunavut Employees' Union has picked up some of their resources in respect of some of their personnel and dealing with their employees.
So that could be a result of some of the grievances accounting for some of the increases in the grievances, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the last time the minister indicated that it was a detailed question and they didn’t have the capacity to be able to provide all that information in a timely manner.
I still haven’t received a response from a year ago to get that information, I still haven’t received that information.
Maybe he should, just as a suggestion to the minister, he may want to consult with the Nunavut Employees' Union if his Department of Human Resources can’t get the information maybe you should look elsewhere or request advice on how they can compile and get that information for the department.
Well, Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his suggestion and in fact I will log onto the web site after question period, of the Northern Employees' Union and see what is available there and contact my department as well.
Question 377 - 1(5): Working Group
In respect to establishing the working groups that were mentioned, when is this going to happen.
The Deputy Minister spoke about this the other day.
In my department we are working on the logistics of the working group.
When we establish this working group we will be keeping in touch with the members as to what is happening.
But we can't say at this time what date the group will be established.
Last week I rose to direct questions to the Minister of Sustainable Development and he also agreed that the communities would be worked with and consulted closely.
I want to find out if the communities will in fact be consulted about the mine closures.
This is the first time we have had these types of mine closings in Nunavut, and it is becoming a reality.
So can the minister state for sure that the communities will be closely involved.
That's what we are planning to do.
The Nunavut communities have to be consulted.
I am not sure exactly how they are going to be involved but there will be involvement of more than one community.
They will be working closely with finance officials.
We are not sure exactly how this is going to work, but the Department of Sustainable Development will also be involved in consulting the communities on the mine closures.
I am grateful for his response.
I wanted to get a response from two ministers, the Minister of Sustainable Development and Community Government & Transportation.
I would like to ask them to go to these communities to plan for the closures of these mines, before the working group is established.
I am sorry, Mr. Speaker. I have spoken with the Minister of Sustainable Development about going to these communities. But perhaps I am the problem here.
I am not sure when I'll be available to go to those two communities.
I have other responsibilities that I have to deal with after our session.
It is obvious that we will be going to these two communities.
I cannot say what date I'll be travelling to these communities though.
Question 378 - 1(5): Study of Grizzly Bears - Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit & Biologists
Mr. Speaker, over the last year we've had some situations in our community that were almost tragic and in a couple of the cases, people were seriously injured by Grizzly bears.
Earlier in the spring I asked the minister if he could commit to do a study on the situation in Baker Lake.
In the meantime, there was a grizzly bear spotted in the Finance Minister's riding of Cambridge Bay and that was a first.
I am wondering if the Honourable Minister could update me if they are going to do some kind of study using Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and the biologists on this issue.
I believe we are seeing a lot of grizzly problems in the Kivalliq and the Kitikmeot region, which is the riding of Mr. Ng and also Mr. Havioyak, and Mr. McLean.
I think this is a very serious issue and before anybody gets seriously injured, I believe I could make sure we do something about it.
I will inform my staff to make sure that we are trying to do something on this issue.
We have been seeing a lot of grizzly in Nunavut now and we have to make sure that we have good research on these grizzly bears.
I'll make sure to inform my staff to look into this issue.
I am glad the minister is responding to the needs of affected communities.
Like I say it seems to be the opposite of what is happening with the polar bears.
There are a decreasing number of polar bears.
Could the minister commit and tell me when he would initiate this study and see that there isn't a problem in the area with these animals.
I will ask my staff to work on this on an urgent basis with the communities affected.
We want to promote tourism too in that area so we have to be very careful about how we deal with bears, not just grizzly bears and not just polar bears.
So we have to be very careful so that we can promote tourism at the same time.
Yes, I will commit to working with the communities that are affected by the grizzly bears.
This is very important so we will work with them.
Question 379 - 1(5): Urgency of Polar Bear Issue