EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
The government can provide an initiative to convert the anglicized names to regional terms, especially if the proper process is followed, such as the terminology committee process. If the members submitted a request to the Minister of Languages to initiate this process, the terminology committee would be tasked to undertake this work to start the naming of the months into Inuktitut.
Mr. Ningark (interpretation): Thank you for answering the question, hon. minister.
Now with the fact that our dialects are different in the Kitikmeot, Kivalliq, and Qikiqtaaluk communities, perhaps we ought to try to standardize the terms since Inuit want to be recognized, to illustrate our different culture, way of life, and language.
I wonder if the minister can work towards standardizing the terms for the months so that we share the terms in Nunavut and show our differences.
If the members provide that direction to work on this, the terminology committee can initiate that work on the months and present their recommendations to the Minister responsible for Languages. They can submit a request stating that they want to undertake certain matters.
This committee can identify when they want to work on this issue.
This work can be done when direction is provided from this House.
Perhaps, in conjunction with the elders from the Kivalliq, Qikiqtaaluk, and Kitikmeot, they should identify their terms for these months. I know they can agree on terms.
As we have to assist our own people, I wonder if the minister can involve the elders or interview them about these issues.
The Inuit Language Authority can undertake this initiative. We try to have representatives on the committee from the regions, such as Qikiqtaaluk, Kivalliq, and Kitikmeot, and the regional Inuit associations.
With the committee involving Inuit from every region, the dialects are quite varied, but we can task the committee with this work.
We also have the elders’ advisory committee and we can consult with the communities to research the terminology for these months here in Nunavut.
Perhaps we will be spending several Sundays here, actually three or four weeks for this session. I wonder if the minister would communicate with the committee on this issue and have this direction identified. If this has been dealt with by this committee, can the minister provide an update prior to our return home?
The chairperson, who is continually busy in Iqaluit, is usually working on their list of items for the committee, but I don’t know if a meeting is scheduled in the short term as I haven’t been briefed on it.
Further, I can’t state that the terms for the moons will be completed within this three-week period. Once I find out that they are able to work on this matter, I will respond back to the member raising this question.
Question 485 – 3(3): Status of Wildlife Damage and Compensation Programs (Ningeongan)
On June 6, 2012, the minister informed the Legislative Assembly that his department would be introducing two important new programs: a Wildlife Damage Prevention Program and a Wildlife Damage Compensation Program.
These new programs were formally introduced on October 15, 2012.
Can the minister inform the House how many applications under these new programs have been received by his department to date and how many have been approved?
We have received two applications in 2011-12 and they both have been approved.
To date, in 2012-13, we have yet to receive applications.
Can the minister inform the House what the annual budget is for each of these new programs and how much the department has spent to date on them?
Although the minister just stated that there haven’t been any applicants for these programs, what is the annual budget for each of these programs?
This information is for the benefit of our fellow Nunavummiut if they were interested in submitting applications to these two programs. I would like that information.
I didn’t say that there weren’t any applications.
So if there have been any proposals written, we have yet to receive them as of this date to our offices. There are two programs, indeed, that you can submit your applications towards.
The Wildlife Damage Prevention Program is either for supplies or cabins or for meat caches. There is a manager running this program and they are currently communicating the program to the communities and HTO boards. The budget for this program is $60,000 per year for all of Nunavut.
The other program is the Wildlife Damage Compensation Program, which is specifically for damage by polar bears or grizzly bears.
This program is to assist hunters. Even if they have put barriers to their goods and they’re damaged by animals, then they can submit an application to the Department of Environment.
This program is allotted $40,000 annually for all of Nunavut.
I would also like to thank the Minister of Environment for his response.
I want to ensure I understand this correctly, so I want to ask if the conservation officers we refer to can be the middlemen or provide a report or pictures of the damage inflicted on their materials. Can the conservation officers provide assistance to people who want to apply for these programs?
Yes, these application forms are readily available through the conservation officers working in the communities. The conservation officers report to regional managers, such as in the Qikiqtaaluk region for North Baffin and South Baffin.
There are employees who tour the communities to provide the services, with a chain of command, and they are also available to provide assistance with applications.
The conservation officers in the communities have been directed to provide assistance to hunters in their communities. They also investigate cases where damage has occurred. They check the damaged goods of the applicant.
For my final supplementary question, I want to ask about the minister’s statement that the conservation officers can conduct investigations on the damaged goods and would write up a report.
Now, do they include their commentary on the application as to whether the applicant is ineligible or if the applicant won’t be able to be completed? Are they involved in this decision-making? If it were to reach your offices, are there other parties who can submit their recommendations and not just the conservation officers’ recommendations?
Yes, the conservation officers will provide as much assistance as they are able to. This isn’t another barrier or hurdle we’re trying to place before the applicants. They are there to provide support and assistance.
The applicants also submit their report in the application when requesting compensation. So when they are filling out the forms, the conservation officers would assist them to complete this application and they would include their investigative report. They are just there to assist applicants who want assistance.
Question 486 – 3(3): Update on the Qulliit Nunavut Status of Women Council (Ugyuk)
Ms. Ugyuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I would like to direct my question to the Minister responsible for Qulliit, the Status of Women Council.
Mr. Speaker, Nunavut’s Status of Women Council is an organization dedicated to developing public awareness of issues affecting women across Nunavut and to bring about changes in attitude in order that women can have equal opportunities in life.
As you will know, I am very concerned about the lack of services to support women and their families and the high rates of domestic violence across Nunavut.
A recently released Statistics Canada report on violence against women notes that Nunavut’s rate of intimate partner violence is more than 13 times the overall Canadian rate.
Can the minister provide an update on what support the government currently provides to the Qulliit Status of Women Council and what specific support is directed towards addressing domestic violence?
The Qulliit Nunavut Status of Women Council works at arm’s length from the government.
They also deal with recommendations that would go to me as the Minister responsible for the Status of Women.
Currently, I haven’t received any information as to what the activities are within this council, so I will have to provide an answer once I have the information, probably directly to your attention.
I will work with my fellow ministers from Justice and Health and Social Services since their mandates are quite different and they both apply to the topic you raised. Once I have that information, I will provide that update to the member.
Ms. Ugyuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) Can the minister indicate whether the Qulliit Status of Women Council is working with the government to develop its long-awaited family violence strategy?
Yes, the Qulliit Status of Women Council has employees to do this work. Their previous staff turned over, so they have new employees recently hired.
At the upcoming spring meeting of the council, they will be identifying further hires as they are still understaffed.
However, I can tell the member that the council has to work with the government on these issues and that is how they can be resolved.
I also thank the minister for her responses. (interpretation ends) According to a recent public service announcement, the minister will be accepting nominations for membership on the Qulliit Status of Women Council from February 18 until this Thursday, February 28.
Can the minister indicate how many members are already on the council and who is the current president?
Yes, this issue is something I should be familiar with. Although I know of it offhand, the documentation outlining the issues hasn’t been provided yet and I don’t want to err on the names of the members.
There are quite a number of vacancies for this body and we’re currently looking for two women to fill these positions.
This coming Thursday, the nomination period will lapse and I want to urge all the women who are listening to these proceedings to fill out the nomination forms, to either go to the Qulliit Status of Women Council offices and request the forms if they are interested in filling the vacancies on this board.
I was informed recently that there were quite a few women interested in filling these two vacant positions.
The committee that will undertake the review for the Qulliit Status of Women Council will start after Thursday to review which two candidates will be recommended for approval for the council and this will be forwarded to my attention.
I will also ensure that we pass these names on to the Executive Council for approval as they have to be approved at that level.
We look forward to very capable individuals to fill those two positions on the Qulliit Status of Women Council. I further urge women to apply for these positions and I want many women to put their names forward. When there are lots of applicants, it makes the process more interesting.
We will provide the names once they have been approved.
Yes, I urge women to apply for any vacancies in the various boards so that they can provide more assistance and support to their fellow community residents.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, our neighbouring territory, the Northwest Territories, also has a status of women council.
Over the past decade, government funding for the NWT Status of Women Council has increased by over 30 percent.
Can the minister explain why Nunavut’s Status of Women Council has not received any increases in funding or support over the same period of time?
Yes, that is quite truthful. That has occurred in other territories, as the member stated. The Qulliit Status of Women Council originally had excellent staff working with the Executive Council.
However, over the past year, there was a high turnover of staff.
They are currently looking for new staff. Right now, an interim executive director is working at their office. They also had no quorum, so I believe that is part of the problem.
We have urged the council to look at the coordination of similar councils in other jurisdictions to try and find out how they have dealt with these issues. We can look at their practices and try to emulate them.
However, this requires a strategic direction and plan. They also have to provide direction as to what they will work on and a plan of action to present for approval. They have to submit their recommendations on what type of changes they would like to see within their council to our department.
It’s a slow process. We’re not going to see results overnight, but they have indicated that they have started to make the plans. However, the requirement to lay out their plans will still require quite a bit of time.
Question 487 – 3(3): Activities of the Office of the Chief Coroner (Tapardjuk)
My questions are for the Minister of Justice, whose department is responsible for the territorial Coroners Act.
In September 2012, a tragic incident took place in Igloolik when a resident of the community died while in police custody.
Mr. Speaker, under subsection 21(2) of the Coroners Act, an inquest is required by law to be held in circumstances when a death occurs in a jail, lockup, or correctional facility. Under the Coroners Act, inquests must be held in public.
Mr. Speaker, can the minister advise the Legislative Assembly when the inquest will begin into this incident?
I would like to thank Mr. Tapardjuk for the question.
It is a very tragic situation that happened in Igloolik, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and citizens of Igloolik.
In the incident that he’s talking to, as the member well knows and I will tell the House again, there has been an outside investigation conducted on this incident overseen by the Ottawa Police Service.
To my knowledge, that report is complete, it has been turned over to the federal Crown prosecutor’s office for review, and that is where the stage of that report is right now.
As far as the coroner and the inquest, once that report is completed, the coroner will review it and decide whether or not there’s an inquest to be held in that case.
In September 2012, a resident in the community died while in police custody.
I asked when there’s going to be an inquest.
In his response, he referred to deaths occurring in a jail or lockup or correctional facility.
Let me ask this again: when will they begin an inquest into the tragic incident of September 2012?
I apologize to Mr. Tapardjuk.
I was referring to the wrong incident that took place in Igloolik.
He’s absolutely right.
There was an incident that involved a death in police custody in the cellblock in the RCMP in Igloolik.
That situation is still under investigation, on my briefing note here, and there will be an inquest held into that situation, but I cannot state at this time when that will begin.
I would like to thank Minister Shewchuk for that response.
If there should be an inquest, can the minister indicate how the family of the deceased will be kept informed of the status of this situation? It has to be an open inquest. Will they be involved in the process?
Based on the legislation I referred to, if you follow how it is outlined, inquests must be held in public.
I have raised this issue so that my constituents in Igloolik will know whether to have any expectations on this matter. I am again asking the minister, Mr. Speaker.
I thank Mr. Tapardjuk for that question again.
Once the report is completed, it will be released and the first ones that it will be released to is the family.
During the time when that report is released, I’m not sure whether there will be a timeline of an inquest to take place, but they will be advised and kept informed by the RCMP and by the Department of Justice.
The reason I expected this action was due to section 21of the Coroners Act, inquests must be held in public and the community has to be informed.
Your response seemed to indicate that once the inquest is completed, the family will be informed.
Your response and what the legislation lays out are not the same since the requirement for a public inquest with the witnesses being interviewed is set out.
The Office of the Chief Coroner exercises many important responsibilities. To date, our government has not provided any annual or tabled annual reports to the Legislative Assembly.
With the importance of this issue, at times, we think that there’s miscommunication between the government and the public.
Mr. Speaker, this will be my last question. Will the minister commit to beginning the practice of tabling an annual report in the Legislative Assembly concerning the activities of the Office of the Chief Coroner?
I’m not committing to tabling an annual report from the chief coroner’s office.
I’m not aware that we are statutorily obligated to do that, so I cannot commit to that right now.
Question 488 – 3(3): Status of Nunavut Development Corporation’s Divestment of Majority Ownership of Pangnirtung Fisheries (Oshutapik)
My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the Nunavut Development Corporation.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, as the minister is aware, the Nunavut Development Corporation holds 51 percent of the voting stock of Pangnirtung Fisheries.
The other 49 percent is held by Cumberland Sound Fisheries.
The Nunavut Development Corporation’s current business plan indicates that one of its priorities is to “Pursue divestment of majority ownership at Pangnirtung Fisheries.”
Can the minister provide an update today on the status of this initiative?
Mr. Speaker, as everybody in Baffin knows, there has been a real influx of good weather and good ice conditions in Pangnirtung and the fisheries have been excellent over there.
I commend all the hard-working fishermen from Pangnirtung.
As the member knows, the fisheries are subject to world market prices.
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, the prices of turbot have been going down due to some unforeseen circumstances in other parts of the world.
NDC is paying attention and looking at this very issue.
Once the statistics and the data are gathered for how the process is going to be dealt with on the ownership or ownership structure, I’ll certainly make that data available to the member.
Mr. Oshutapik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) The minister’s 2012-13 letter of expectation to the chairperson of the Nunavut Development Corporation’s board of directors was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on June 6, 2012.
The minister’s letter asked the corporation to provide quarterly updates on its priorities, including divestment of majority ownership at Pangnirtung [Fisheries].
Can the minister indicate if the corporation has been providing quarterly updates and, if it has, will he commit to tabling copies of them to this Legislative Assembly?
Mr. Speaker, the Nunavut Development Corporation has, in other words, been trying to divest some of the subsidiaries.
The Nunavut Development Corporation is not going to rush into some of the divestment of subsidiaries.
Mr. Speaker, we have to be careful in that the subsidiaries do not run into unforeseen problems.
The last thing we want to see are subsidiaries actually being divested and running into operational problems.
Mr. Speaker, once the Nunavut Development Corporation and Pangnirtung Fisheries have come up with scheduling a timetable on negotiations of the divestment, I’ll certainly let the member know.
On March 2, 2005, the Nunavut Development Corporation’s Investment Policies and Guidelines were tabled in the Legislative Assembly.
These guidelines outlined the corporation’s divestment procedures.
Can the minister confirm if these guidelines remain in place?
In 2005, I’m not certain if the guidelines have been amended, but I’ll certainly check with my officials to determine whether they’re the one and the same, and I’ll get back to the member on that.
Mr. Oshutapik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) Will the minister commit to ensuring that the issue of the Nunavut Development Corporation’s divestment of majority ownership at Pangnirtung Fisheries is addressed in his next letter of expectation to the corporation’s board of directors?
The Nunavut Development Corporation will work closely with all boards.
In the past, they have done that with all subsidiary boards and the Nunavut Development Corporation intends to do that and be open, fair, and transparent to the divestment procedures and protocols that are within the guidelines.
I’ll certainly let the member know once there’s any movement on the divestment of Pangnirtung Fisheries.
Question 489 – 3(3): Application Process for Social Insurance Numbers (Elliott)
My questions are for the Minister of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs, whose department administers the Government Liaison Office program.
During my recent visit to Grise Fiord, a number of residents raised concerns with me regarding the federal government’s new rules concerning the application process for social insurance numbers.
Mr. Speaker, Service Canada indicates that “all applications for a Social Insurance Number made within Canada, must be processed in person at a Service Canada Centre.”
Applications may no longer be submitted by mail.
Mr. Speaker, at a time when the federal government has made the passport renewal process much easier, it is extremely frustrating that applying for a basic social insurance number has become much more difficult.
As you know, Mr. Speaker, only three communities in Nunavut have a Service Canada Centre: Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Cambridge Bay.
Can the minister advise the House if this issue has come to her department?
This issue has been discussed previously as a concern. Federal government programming or services provided by Service Canada are not available at the smaller communities. This has been brought up as an issue and is currently being reviewed to see if it can be added to the GLO’s list of duties.
I guess it doesn’t help constituents right now who are seeking to get a social insurance number or having one renewed.
Again, I think it speaks to some of the concerns of offloading services onto the GLO.
I know, in Grise Fiord, a lot of residents were upset and couldn’t understand, if the federal government can’t provide the service to us in the communities, why the service from the federal government being offloaded onto the Government of Nunavut as a responsibility.
Mr. Elliott: I know constituents in the High Arctic would be upset with that, but obviously we want to be able to get social insurance numbers.
My second question would be Service Canada comes under the responsibility of the federal Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.
Can the Premier advise the House if she has asked our Member of Parliament to raise this issue with her federal cabinet colleague?
This government considers communications a very important aspect of our operations.
That is the reason why the positions of GLOs were created, to ensure that communication would ensue between government and the communities. Further, when community members require assistance with forms or letters, the GLOs are available as they are to provide this service to those people who need it.
They assist with income tax forms, English-only correspondence, and other areas.
As per my previous response, we are still in discussions with our federal counterparts to determine which federal government services can be added to the positions.
It is obvious that this will proceed as discussions are already underway. I will be keeping the people informed as to what is happening with this issue.
The minister didn’t actually answer yes or no whether she has spoken to our MP who represents us as a territory in Ottawa.
My next question is the issue clearly impacts not only the people of Nunavut, but residents of the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, many of whose people also live in small, isolated communities.
Will the Premier work with her territorial counterparts to raise this issue with the federal government?
I thank the member asking a very important question.
Within the Government of Nunavut, we have created the GLO positions to be the liaison between government and the communities. Most communities have a position and all communities requesting the GLO position will receive this position.