EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I was pleased with his Minister’s Statement yesterday.
The minister announced the upcoming review of the Child and Family Services Act. In April, I noted that an RFP had been issued for a project manager for the review of the Child and Family Services Act.
It appeared that the RFP closed without being awarded to any contractor.
Can the minister advise this House if any contracts have been awarded with respect to this review and if so, how many contractors or consultants will be working on the file?
With regard to the RFP, we are looking at opening up a permanent position that could start work on getting a project manager so that there will be an ongoing review of the Child and Family Services Act.
We have received a number of applications.
I can say today that we have not awarded a contract to date. We will be looking to extend the RFP. The reason is that we are looking at making an amendment and putting in the requirement to have an Inuk work with this individual.
Due to that reason, I can state that once it’s concluded, I will provide the details, but it is currently not quite ready for dissemination.
Yesterday, the minister indicated that his department is committed to ensuring that the review is undertaken using an approach that is informed and guided by Inuit knowledge and Inuit family values.
Can the minister clarify what specific steps will be taken to ensure that this approach follows these guidelines?
Hon. Tagak Curley (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If we follow what we tabled yesterday and if you read it, we are going to ensure that Inuit knowledge and Inuit family values listed in the report are taken into account.
There will also be regional meetings with the original attendees present. They are currently on standby and we have not forgotten them.
The meetings may recommence in the fall. As well, we have committed to including the representatives at every regional meeting. There will be a representative at every meeting.
Additionally, there is an advisory committee with the deputy minister chairing it, including representatives from the Department of Education and other GN departments involved, as well as the NTI and regional Inuit organizations.
We have invited them due to their experience and knowledge about this issue.
Most of the work is done in Inuktitut, except in the advisory committee meetings as there are more non-Inuit in that committee.
If any member has any recommendations or improvement suggestions with relation to this process, you can inform my office via written correspondence or a memo to our elders who are on the committee.
We will be reporting further on this as we hammer out the details.
Thank you for that response. Like I said, I’m kind of excited about seeing this move forward. I have met with some of the people on the advisory committee and they’re actually excited and very happy with the focus and the direction that the Department of Health and Social Services is going on this.
My next question is: can the minister inform this House whether or not the concept of a child and youth representative will be addressed in the course of this review?
It is for all residents and especially youth, for example, up to 19 years of age who are experiencing crisis or are at risk.
If we look at the Child and Family Services Act, we know that it is inadequate based on our understanding of Inuit knowledge and Inuit family values that need to be incorporated into counselling services.
All of the powers and responsibilities have been given to the director.
Within the community, family protection and counselling services are not readily available and due to that, we are trying to include more training of local Inuit.
What I can state is that the youth portion of this is under the responsibility of our Premier.
I believe you’re talking about the advocacy and that is not part of these preparations.
We have not included this as we know that it is a standalone matter and it is part of the Premier’s responsibilities.
Mr. Elliott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for that response.
I had remembered in questions that I had actually directed to the Premier, she had that the child and youth representative or child and youth advocate.
I know we were trying to steer away from the word “child and youth advocate” and work towards “child and youth representative,” she had said to direct the questions in that regard to you, as Minister of Health and Social Services, because of the review of the Child and Family Services Act.
I will come up with some more questions and ask the Premier in that regard if I have misunderstood something.
In his statement yesterday, the minister stated that the review will include individuals, groups, and organizations throughout the territory who are concerned with the well-being of children and families.
Will the review also consider models and best practices from other jurisdictions?
Hon. Tagak Curley (interpretation): Thank you. I can say absolutely that that is indeed the model we have adopted. I know that there are also child advocacy models in Nunavik, Northern Québec, and since they are a province, they have a lot more access to fund those types of programs.
We envy the many services that are offered to their residents and we want to see that become available to our residents in Nunavut.
There are other jurisdictions within Canada that will be researched by the technical committee.
That will be their main role. What we can say with some certainty is the fact that we will be collaborating with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and other Inuit organizations. My expectations are that they will provide us many recommendations through the process.
As I stated earlier, the ministers and MLAs, our colleagues, if you have any information or suggestions during this review, it would be of tremendous help for our department.
I am referring to this because we want all members to have their opportunity to be involved.
Question 418 – 3(2): Labour Costs Associated with Nunavut Housing Trust (Schell)
There was a written question that was asked of him back on March 4 from the member from Pangnirtung, Mr. Komoartok, and it’s in regard to the status of the implementation of the Nunavut Housing Trust Delivery Strategy.
He had it broken down by communities how many units were built.
Also, he had it broken down as to what the cost for the total units are, but they’re not broken down, like how much was it for each five-plex, etcetera.
When I was going back and looking at the other question I had asked on March 19 a year ago in regard to their contracting and hiring activities and you look at the labour costs of units, they vary quite a bit from one community to the other.
My question is: what did the Housing Corporation use for an estimate on the labour cost for the entire $200 million trust fund?
Mr. Speaker, I know in different areas that the numbers do vary community by community for labour costs and as I had indicated or said earlier, anything that is stated is the average cost is over, but the numbers that we put out are based on average costs, not by project-specific costs.
Mr. Speaker, back in 2006, when the budget was approved for the Nunavut Housing Trust, the number that was used at the time, I believe, was around one hundred and five thousand dollars for labour per unit.
According to the figures that are in this article here, the written question that he responded to from March 19, 2009, if you do the calculations over there, the cheapest that I can see that any five-plex was built was $135,000 and they go as high as $175,000.
So I’m just trying to figure out why, when they started getting these figures here, there wasn’t a warning sign that there is going to be a problem if they were using $109,000 as their estimate.
I just want to clarify for the record that I said $105,000, not $109,000.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, those numbers vary quite a bit from community to community.
Some like the ones that we were asked about there at that level, it varies by each community as to what the labour costs were.
So it’s looking at an individual community and trying to take that across the board.
It would not give you an accurate picture of what the projected costs would be.  So it’s something that does vary so much, so it was impossible to use one community and say that’s what the numbers are going to be across the board.
Well, I wasn’t looking at one community, I was looking at about 15 communities, and the cheapest that I can see there is $135,000 and they go up as high as $175,000.
That was stated like a couple of years ago, so I find it hard to believe that the minister says that there was no warning sign that they were going to go over on labour.
It was there back two years ago.
As I had indicated, the way that the reports and the information were provided to me, the financial reporting on the trust was done on an expenditure basis.
So it didn’t take into account previous year’s expenditures or forecast to completion.
The forecast to completion cost is something that’s just been done by the new chief financial officer for the corporation and that’s when the situation came to light.
In a lot of the communities where the LHOs did the labour for these five-plexes, there is no figure there as far as what the cost was.
Can the minister tell us roughly what the cost was when the LHOs did it or whether it was contracted? Was there much of a difference?
If memory serves me correct, and I will correct myself if I am wrong after conferring with my staff, I think one of the reasons that we’re unable to get the information from some of the LHOs is that they have to wait for their audit to be completed and their year-end to be done before their information can be doled out to us for reporting purposes.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t have that information with me, but I can assure and commit to the member that I will look into it, and provide him with the appropriate response to his question.
Question 419 – 3(2): Update on Waste Management Issues in Pangnirtung (Komoartok)
I would like to direct my question to the Hon. Minister of Community and Government Services, Lorne Kusugak.
Yesterday, in the House, I stated that our community was experiencing difficulties stemming from burning refuse at the dump with the fumes overhanging the community, especially on a windy day. When it is calm, it is less of a problem.
I know that our hamlet has been working with the regional CGS office from Cape Dorset as well as the regional engineer from Pond Inlet on this issue.
Have there been any updates from your regional office to your headquarters in regard to Pangnirtung’s request for an improved dump?
Hon. Lorne Kusugak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the member for asking that question.
You brought it up yesterday and we noted your concerns.
Dealing with dumps and in burning waste is a growing problem in the majority of the communities.
Most of the refuse that is dumped is not consistent, as there are combustible materials and some materials that cannot be burned, and there are many hazardous materials, like paints, old batteries, and so on.
There are also metal wastes that are not combustible.
With that being the case, we are looking into this challenge.
We are looking in Nunavut, especially in Pangnirtung, how we can make improvements in waste management.
When a dump is full, it is not feasible to just build a new one. You’re using up land of which there is a limited supply, especially for the people who live on islands.
We are currently reviewing how we can better manage our waste system in our communities.
Based on these issues, Pangnirtung was identified as one of the communities that our engineers will visit to inspect the current dumpsite. They are going to look at what works, what requires improvements, whether they should relocate the dump, and so on.
We are going to be working on this issue in the upcoming months.
I understand that the government is currently reviewing it, but it is becoming a severe crisis in our community’s case.
Will the minister have more relevant information in the upcoming months?
Could the minister give us the information and provide updates on the finding from that review?
Hon. Lorne Kusugak (interpretation): I cannot tell you exactly what date it will be completed as that is impossible at this time, Mr. Speaker.
I know that this is a slow process and it is quite obvious that this is an urgent situation in your community. I am aware of the urgency of the matter.
I have also had a discussion with the mayor about the challenges his community is facing and he identified the problem areas.
So I am aware of the challenges facing the community and so do our officials.
What I can state is that there are going to be some options that would deal with community waste management.
It is an urgent situation, but the process is slow.
Question 420 – 3(2): Country Food Trade in Nunavut (Okalik)
This question is for the Minister of Economic Development and Transportation.
He made a statement about the Tourism Sector Development Strategy, which I found interesting. We do like to see different opportunities coming out. However in some ways, it would be good to see something more relevant.
We appreciate the Inuit culture, especially in our communities, but there is not much available for attractions.
Is it possible for your department to consider trading cultural components of the different communities? I would like to see more work done on inter-settlement trade of country foods. It could provide employment opportunities to our HTO bodies.
Even if it is only for Nunavut, a project such as an inter-settlement trade of country foods could boost up the economy and provide some opportunities for the smaller communities that don’t have economic opportunities.
I would like the minister to work with the hunters, their organizations, as well as the local business interests so that they could produce a viable plan.
This would provide more opportunities for the smaller communities to benefit from their local wildlife resources.
I would first like to ask the Minister of Economic Development Transportation if he will consider this.
Mr. Speaker, as a department, we are looking at that.
Of course, we are trying to engage all of the NGOs, or non-governmental organizations, the Inuit organizations, and the communities in assisting us as a government in talking about the issues and coming forth with a plan on inter-settlement trade of country foods.
That’s through our Poverty Reduction Plan that we are bringing forth with my department there.
We know that if we are going to be selling any food products outside of Nunavut, inspections by CFIA are required.
If it’s going to be remaining in Nunavut, those requirements are not binding.
Based on our current practices, the meat can be made available for trade.
I am urging the government to set up an inter-settlement trading of country foods because it could mean an economic boost to the hunters and the harvesters based on his tourism strategy model.
The minister stated that they are making plans, so my question is: could the minister provide details on where the plan is and when can we expect to see a detailed plan for this?
We have already contacted an energy department down in Ottawa. This relates to refrigeration technologists.
We see community freezers as being an integral part in dealing with internal country foods trade and we have incorporated that into our Poverty Reduction Strategy.
These plans are ongoing and within a month or so, I should have an updated report on the current status of our situation with this Anti-poverty Strategy.
Included in there are some plans and ideas on the issue of how to handle these inter-settlement trading of foods.
I know there are some requirements where the food has to be inspected, but for the most part, I believe we are looking into the legislation for that.
With all of the technology and transportation systems improving on a daily basis, I envision caribou coming out of Rankin Inlet and being available in our community.
From your community of Clyde River, Mr. Speaker, there is seal meat and Maktaaq that can be traded with other communities on a daily basis.
There are opportunities, but the only things we seem to be focusing on are the barriers.
There are freight costs that are being offered by airlines where they have cheaper rates for country foods.
We ought to put them in an entire package and make it a priority down the road.
There are also other opportunities and benefits for everyone, especially my constituents here in Iqaluit who sometimes clamour for certain country foods.
I didn’t hear a question, but you’re welcome to respond, Minister Taptuna.
Hon. Peter Taptuna: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the member for that comment.
My department is playing a key role.
I will be the co-chair of this Poverty Reduction Strategy and we’re hoping to bring in partners from all over, including the communities.
For internal trade of country foods, we see that as a key priority within the strategy.
It is a matter of keeping the food safe. We can’t bring in a large amount of caribou from any location to a place where there are no freezer systems, so we’re looking into that closely.
We’re working with all of the other Inuit organizations and other departments in doing that efficiently and effectively.
I would like to thank the minister for working on the completion of these plans.
Today, most communities have community freezers which can be used to store the food and most communities have daily flights to Iqaluit.
We are able to receive the food no matter what community it comes from within one day.
Looking for community freezers seems to be senseless, especially when you come from the north.
When you order meat, you expect it to arrive the very next day.
We should look for an opportunity where the people can make their phone call and order so that it would be possible to have inter-community trade.
This is a ready solution that just requires some more work to make it a reality.
Although I didn’t hear a question, it’s at your discretion to respond, Minister Taptuna.
We live in the north and for eight months out of the year, everything is usually frozen, but when handling food, you need to take some precautions.
It is necessary to keep the food safe and it’s not only going to be in the wintertime where there is going to be inter-settlement trade.
We’re hoping to do that year-round, not just in the winter season.
Question 421 – 3(2): Northern and Family Residency Program (Aupaluktuq)
I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Health and Social Services, the Hon. Minister Tagak Curley.
Mr. Speaker, earlier this month, the federal Minister of Health, the Hon. Leona Aglukkaq, Member of Parliament for Nunavut, announced the expansion of the Northern and Remote Family Medicine Residency Program.
Programs such as this encourage doctors to live and work in remote and rural communities.
I have noted that the Government of Nunavut is a partner in this project.
Can the minister update this House on what role the Government of Nunavut plays in the organization and delivery of this program?
I would like to thank the Member for Baker Lake for asking the question.
The federal government program is very good and beneficial.
They have considered Nunavut’s needs as well.
I can also tell you that our medical team is participating and they provide advice on what would be the best method.
They have been included in preparing policies and participated in these meetings.
I can tell you that they have considered having at least one doctor moved to the north through the University of Manitoba and this is in reference to the Jack Hills Northern Medical Unit.
They have also taken part in these meetings to enable a doctor to work up north.
They asked if they could provide assistance for three weeks.
They have been thinking of having the doctor go to Baker Lake, but as a department, we believe that they should stay over three weeks because we need to have a resident doctor in that community and that is something we have looked into Thank you.
I am sure that all of Nunavut is looking forward to this partnership as well to ensure that we have enhanced quality of service to the people of Nunavut.
It’s good as legislators to see that there are partners being created and it’s good to see the hon. minister reaching out and talking with other out-of-territory partnerships with other provinces.
The additional funding that was announced for the Northern Residency Program will provide medical training for an additional 15 residents with one resident position going to Nunavut, one to the NWT, and the remainder to northern Manitoba.
Given the great need for full-time medical professionals in our territory, especially in the Kivalliq region, can the minister clarify how the distribution of residency positions was determined?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Aupaluktuq. (interpretation ends) Minister Curley.
With regard to the federal government’s program, it is still being worked on and is still not complete.
Once it’s completed, they will inform me as it relates to Ms. Aglukkaq’s announcement. Our role is just on an advisory basis as the Nunavut government.
We toured the High Arctic and that is one of their priorities, to have a resident doctor, especially after there had been a doctor in Pond Inlet.
According to our jurisdiction, we have stated, Mr. Speaker, that we need to start planning ahead as to where the doctor should be located.
I can only speak to Nunavut and our current situation is that we have one in Arviat and the doctor visits Baker Lake. If funding is available in the future, I believe that there should be a doctor in Baker Lake.
That’s what I alluded to. We will consider that and it’s part and parcel to that.
Mr. Aupaluktuq (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the minister for his response.
The community of Baker Lake is one of the fastest growing communities and not only the fourth largest community in Nunavut but it also has the highest proportion of elders per capita across the territory.
On more than one occasion, I have raised the need for a full-time medical practitioner as well as the need for more nurses in the community of Baker Lake.
The minister stated that they have considered the community for future medical practitioners and I am quite pleased with that.
I also support that initiative.
However, I want to ask this question: will the minister commit to supporting the placement of the new medical resident position into the community of Baker Lake and if not, why not?
We need that staff in our community because the population is growing, especially with the mining sector.
Although we receive agency nurses, it’s evident that we need a resident, full-time medical practitioner.
So therefore, I would like to ask the minister for the record.
I am in full support of that and I will ask the minister further questions. Will he be supporting the placement of a new resident medical position in the community of Baker Lake?
I can tell the member that we are concerned about all of the residents of Nunavut with respect to the provision of medical practitioners in Nunavut and all of our residents have to be properly cared for.
If we have adequate funding, we want to provide support to Nunavutmiut by providing more medical practitioners.
We have to start reducing sickness and we will work to the best of our abilities to deal with that. Although we continue to have shortages of doctors and nurses in the communities, we are working within our capabilities to resolve some of these challenges.
Based on the community’s request, as well as the advice by our team, we have looked at having a medical practitioner in the larger centres. As we are slowly rolling out our plan, although the process is time consuming, I fully expect that there will be a full-time medical practitioner in Baker Lake.
Our medical team has been focusing on the community. The director of medical affairs, Dr. Sandy MacDonald, is also considering that option.
According to the way we progress with our plan, it’s not just for the community of Baker Lake.
Once we have the plan completed, I believe that I will be able to table it in the House in the future.
Thank you, Hon. Minister.