EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Chairperson (interpretation): Kivalliq Region, total Kivalliq region 187 thousand dollars.
Chairperson (interpretation): Kitikmeot Region, total Kitikmeot Region 105 thousand dollars.
Chairperson (interpretation): Total equipment acquisitions 51 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): Total capital expenditures 4 million dollars 300 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): Information Item 10-8, Health and Social Services.
Distribution of budget.
We are finished with distribution of budget.
Do you wish to go on to the next Item.
Under 2000/2001 budgets if you have them on hand, page 10-4.
Health and social services, branch summary, directorate.
Total Operations and Maintenance 15 million 312 thousand.
First of all maybe I should ask if I will be able to ask my question now that we are in the O&M pages.
Hon. Ed Picco: I think we would be under page 10-7, but I would be prepared to answer the question if that is what the members would prefer.
Chairperson (interpretation): 10-4, we are on page 10-4.
Total operations and maintenance. 15 million, 312 thousand.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): I think I am on the wrong page because I cannot find my 15 million dollars.
Is this for O&M or capital spending.
Chairperson (interpretation): Rephrase your question please.
I am talking about the smoking cessation program here.
Hon. Ed Picco: I look forward to that debate on the tobacco cessation program but unfortunately, this is not on this page it is on 10-13.
We could move very fast and it would give Mr. Iqaqrialu and I a chance to debate that tobacco cessation program, which we know is very important for the people of Nunavut.
Chairperson (interpretation): Total operations and maintenance 15 million 312 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): Total expenditures 19 million 612 thousand dollars.
Chairperson (interpretation): 10-5 Health & Social Services, directorate, branch summary.
Information Item 10-6 Health & Social Services, branch summary, health insurance programs.
Operations and maintenance, total operations and maintenance 28 million 484 thousand dollars.
In 1999/2000 revised estimates the number is larger than the 2000/2001 estimates.
It was 30 million dollars in 1999 and now it is 28 million dollars.
Why is it smaller this year.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Nutarak is asking why there is a decrease in this year's numbers.
The member is very observant and he is correct.
The difference in the funding for the 1999/2000 means that now what we are going to be accessing hopefully under this budget is less.
It is about 4 million dollars.
The difference means that we would be using less money.
This money would have been funnelled from Health & Social Services into the three regional health boards.
Because of some proactive work we have done within the department, we don't need as much money.
Under this health insurance program as an example, it is for out of territory hospital services including the GNWT and the provision of extended health services and the physician program and also non-insured health benefits.
So we are not using as much money as last year and I think that is a good thing.
That money is then reallocated back into different other areas of the Department of Health.
I hope Mr. Chairman, that helps the member on his very observant question.
We are on information Item 10-5 and 10-6.
Total operations and maintenance 28 million 484 thousand dollars.
Chairperson (interpretation): Total expenditures 28 million 484 thousand dollars.
Chairperson (interpretation): Page 10-7 we will move on to 10-8, this is just for information purposes.
Branch summary, primary and after care programs. Information Item 10-7, Health & Social Services, branch summary, primary and after care programs, operations and maintenance.
Total operations and maintenance, total expenditures.
On page 10-7, there are no figures for the 2000/2001 estimates.
Could you elaborate on that further Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Minister why is that.
This is similar to one of the questions Mr. Nutarak had asked.
This is where we are taking the money that had been allocated and budgeted to the health boards but now it is actually budgeted directly to the Department of Health & Social Services because we are directly delivering the programs.
However, if you follow along on the next five pages I believe you will see the detail of those monies and expenditures recorded.
When you get to page 10-13 then you will see the breakout of the money being spent and you see the initiatives and I believe it was 10-13 where Mr. Iqaqrialu wanted to ask some questions.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Minister at this time we will move on to Item 10-10.
Health and Social Services, branch summary, children's programs.
Information item 10-9.
Operations and Maintenance, total operations and maintenance, zero. Mr. Irqittuq.
I am not quite sure where I am going to bring up my questions.
The Health Committee in my community, what kind of support services are they going to be provided for their operations and maintenance.
Possibly if you answer that question I will be less concerned.
Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to say that the larger community that the member represents, Igloolik, has been very proactive on this community health committee.
Indeed, on April 11, we mailed a cheque for the contribution agreement that was agreed to in Hall Beach at the Baffin Leaders Forum, of 5 thousand dollars to Igloolik.
So we are very pleased to see that.
At the same time Arctic Bay, Arviat, Cambridge Bay, Cape Dorset, Chesterfield, Kugluktuk and Kugaaruk have also been mailed cheques for the health committees.
As we have discussed earlier in this House, Mr. Chairman, the committees of Council which we have asked to be set up, I believe right now the last week I saw was 16 out of 26 communities are already set up, their health committees.
They’re working Mr. Chairman, on their terms of reference that we have provided to them from the Department of Health and Social Services.
We are in the process right now Mr. Chairman of finalizing the tender so that we will be able to deliver the orientation sessions to each of the communities and committees that we have promised.
Those orientation sessions will deal with advocacy issues and issues of confidentiality and so on.
Those terms of reference and so on we have discussed at some length in this House and questions.
Mr. Chairman, some of the things the committees would be doing would be to look after the social and health needs of their community right at the community level, at the local level.
They won’t have to for example, deliver programs, and they won’t have to hire the staff, all that will still be done as it was before April 1.
What the committees will be functioning on, as I just said, is advocacy issues, confidentiality issues, dealing with for example, teenage pregnancy.
If the community of Hard Luck Bay thought that there was a problem with teenage pregnancy, then they might request or say, Mr. Picco through your offices can you support us on bringing forward a promotional program to help us with the problem of teenage pregnancy, then that’s what we would do.
So that’s the kind of things that the health committee would be doing at the local level and the response from the Mayors and from the Hamlets have been quite good.
So thank you Mr. Chairman for the opportunity to answer the member’s question.
My question is in response to the huge responsibility that the committees are going to be taking on, are they going to be provided O&M dollars, are they going to have office, telephones and equipment and are they going to be given money for office managers.
Please keep your answers as brief as possible Mr. Minister, and to the point.
Yes, I will endeavour to keep my answers succinct and to the point.
First of all, Mr. Chairman, we have had this discussion with the Mayors.
There may be an opportunity for the community wellness funding through Brighter Futures, if the Hamlet wanted to move forward in hiring a part-time position to work with the committee.
In some cases the Hamlets have recognized the work that the committee would be expected to do and have actually appointed someone from their own staff.
In some instances Mr. Chairman, some of the communities don’t want the 5 thousand dollars for honorarium, they will want the members to be volunteers and they will use that money to help support the committee.
So there are different avenues.
I want to commit again to the member that after this year we will review that 5 thousand dollars as requested by the Baffin Leaders’ Summit, and the Mayors from the Kitikmeot and the Keewatin to make sure that it is sustainable and acceptable. At this time that was the only money that I had available in the budget to allocate to the communities.
My question, Mr. Chairman, is that there is going to be a huge increase in roles and responsibilities for the committees.
They will be in charge of health and social issues.
They will have promotional work and they have been given terms of reference.
I know that the 5 thousand dollars will never be enough.
If they do not have an adequate office or administrative support, they will never truly get off the ground.
My question is are they going to be given adequate funding so that they can have proper administrative support.
What the minister is saying to me, again, is that they can probably access the Brighter Futures program or Community Wellness where they will probably access a couple of dollars, and he is not even listening.
The minister has stated that we can access the Brighter Futures money, they will never have adequate administrative support and of course there is going to be problems if they don’t have adequate support and if they are not provide adequate dollars.
Are they going to be provided O&M dollars.
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the member’s comments and these are some of the discussions and very frank discussions that we have had with the Mayors.
As I have said before I think we have spoken with 23 out of 26 Mayors in Nunavut.
I was listening to your question, I was asking the Assistant Deputy Minister if Health and Social Services, who has been involved in conference calls and meeting with me and the Mayors about some of the discussions that we have had.
Mr. Chairman, the role of the committee at the local level is not to deliver programs or to deliver services.
The role of the committee at the local level, at the community level, at the member’s community is to help us and to help the community on Health and Social Services issues.
They are an advocacy group and will be dealing with confidentiality issues and so on.
I don’t expect them to be hiring people, they don’t have the same role and responsibilities that the Baffin Regional Health Board had, or the Kitikmeot Health Board had.
We have had Mr. Chairman, over the last year when this idea came forward that I have been bringing forward to the members of this House, we have had an opportunity to discuss it.
We have discussed it at some length at each leadership forum, we have well over half, almost 70% of all communities in Nunavut now who are participating.
We have committed over 5 thousand dollars to help out with honorarium and we are just getting up and running and we will give, as I said before, Mr. Chairman, we will provide an orientation and training session for the community and for the members on that committee.
For example, Mr. Chairman, I just had a letter from one community where they have put 12 members on the committee.
Not five or six but twelve.
We think, Mr. Chairman, here in Nunavut that we should be building that capacity at the local level.
Now if a particular community or committee needs extra help then I would be interested Mr. Chairman, in looking at that opportunity.
I would make that commitment to the member as we are developing this plan.
As I said before and as I committed to the member and the members of this House, within one year I will review the 5 thousand dollar initial contribution to see if that also can be increased.
I have asked him are you going to be providing O&M for things such as a computer and a telephone.
I want yes or no response.
Mr. Chairman, that is the choice of the Hamlet.
Like I said before we are offering 5 thousand dollars right now and they can use that either way they want to support the committee.
If that is for computers, if that is for O&M or if that is in honorariums that is up to the members themselves to do that.
In most cases that we have found Mr. Chairman, most of the Mayors and Hamlets have come back and said how pleased they are to have the committees up and running and they would help support it from the Hamlet themselves.
I am open to suggestions from the Hamlet, if a Hamlet in any particular case has a situation where they need extra resources or materials as I have said to the member now for the third time here I will review that and look at it.
However, we are voting on money that is available in the budget here and the only money that is available in this budget is 5 thousand.
The members know that I can’t add to the budget and neither can the members.
We can only take away from the budget.
But I will review that and if an opportunity comes forward from the members or from that member saying that there is a request then we will be able to review that in the context of the budget that is available.
The minister does not even understand my question.
I just wanted a yes or no response.
So therefore, we should be getting a different minister.
So my question is, is there going to be O&M dollars for the committee. Yes or no.
Would you like to respond.
The member wants to understand from the Minister of Health and Social Services if you are going to say yes or no.
The member would like to get a clear response.
So how are you going to respond Mr. Minister.
Yes or no. Mr. Minister.
Hon. Ed Picco: Well, Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to be able to sit here today and introduce my budget and the member has asked me am I going to bring forward money for O&M.
That, I just said, Mr. Chairman, is what the 5 thousand dollars is doing.
So the answer is yes, if it is to buy computers or anything else and if the amount is not enough then that is where I said, Mr. Chairman, that the Hamlet could come forward and say that it is not enough and then give me another figure.
That is always available right now in the budget.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Irqittuq has a point of order.
Mr. Irqittuq (interpretation): He is responding to issues that I do not want to hear about and I do not want to hear about it again.
Chairperson (interpretation): We are on page 10 – 9.
Mr. Chairman, this is children’s programs and it has under grants and contributions 3 million dollars 210 thousand.
Is this money that is used for housing kids say if a per diem is paid to a foster home or something like that, is that where the funds come from in this area.
Chairperson: Minister Picco.
I would ask the Director of Finance to answer that question.
Mr. Maychuk: Excuse me, Mr. Chairman, the monies that were shown in 1999/2000 the 3 million 2, was funds that the department transferred to the former three health boards.
This money is now included as the minister stated on page 10 – 13 as part of the new funding realignment for the department.
With the three boards coming into the department we are all one group and as a result the monies will be paid out for some placement in the south for children and would be administered out of the three regional offices, as opposed to headquarters.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you Finance Director.
Just then I would like to say that the money that funds the program that he just talked about is going to be coming up under page 10 – 13 in that area so I will wait and ask my question then.
Chairperson (interpretation): Okay. Thank you.
We are on page 10 – 9.
Total operations and maintenance, new.
Total expenditures, new.
The finishing item for Health and Social Services, salaries, community.
We are on page 10 – 12, community health programs, that is an information Item.
Page 10 – 11, Health and Social Services, branch summary, community health programs, operations and maintenance.
Total expenditures, zero.
In here it states that the community health programs, with that heading, like the Health and Social Services committees don’t even have any funding that’s what is says here.
For that reason, I think that since the GNWT we have been allotting funds to the communities and they started giving out the responsibilities to the Hamlet Councils.
It seems like the previous government did not even think of giving operational costs when they transferred the responsibilities to the community Hamlets.
There are no O&M dollars for the Health and Social Services committee and even the 5 thousand dollars is not even enough to cover the whole year.
Perhaps will that 5 thousand dollars be the only form of funding to assist the committee at the community level.
Mr. Chairman, as explained earlier in this budget we have 5 thousand dollars that’s available at the first opportunity for honorarium or for any other expense that the committee would have.
We are also investing in an orientation and training session and I just committed to the member from Amittuq that we would, yes, review the opportunity and the funding that are available to the committee to see what is sustainable.
Each community is different Mr. Chairman, I don’t want to be tied down saying that each committee should get the same amount of money.
It depends on what type of programs and what type of advocacy issues and so on, promotional issues that each committee takes on at that community level.
This 5 thousand dollars. Is that going to be used for a full year.
Is that funding for a full year.
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): On page 10 – 11, under the heading community health programs.
There is no money allotted, is it because the title has been changed, is that why there is no main estimates for that particular heading.
Chairperson (Mr. Irqittuq) (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Nutarak.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): Let me re-phrase my question.
The children’s program on page 10 – 9 and we have already approved that, and he stated when we go to 10 – 13 that it will be more clear.
For that reason, I am trying to ask the minister on page 10 – 11, community health programs, there is no funding allotted for that particular Item.
On page 10 – 13 it states healthy children.
What are under the children’s programs, under that heading.
Is that the same program with a different heading.
That’s a good question and a good observation by the member.
What we are trying to show there is these are monies last year that would have directly came from the Health Board, programs that the Health Board would have run.
We are just using these as information Items and the actual money that the member is talking about starts on page 10 – 13.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): Thank you for the response.
Chairperson (interpretation): We are now on page 10 – 11.
Total expenditures, nil.
This is not a question, or maybe a question.
Like the member from Pond Inlet said, there are some pages there with nothing on them and I am just wondering why they are included in there.
It might have saved a little bit of confusion if they had just been notes under 10 – 13 wherever that money has been re-allocated or shifted to.
Just a suggestion for maybe next year that it might save some confusion and just make notes on pages where it might have been shifted and don’t put anything in there where there is no money.
The pages are blank and they are just shown for procedural purposes they have to be there following on the budget that was passed last year.
That’s my understanding of it and next year those pages wouldn’t be there.
It is confusing and I had several questions on it too after reviewing the pages.
We are page 10 – 11.
Under 10 – 13, Healthy Children, Families and Communities.
Operations and maintenance, total operations and maintenance, 3 million 828 thousand.
Mr. Chairman, as I had indicated earlier I would like to ask the minister, this is the area where the funding, I would maybe ask how much of the funding in here is for foster care.
I just wanted to say to you Mr. Chairman that I enjoyed our spirited discussion earlier and I still believe that you are a very effective representative of Amittuq.
After saying that Mr. Chairman, my finance person is going through the detail right now to find those amounts.
Mr. Tootoo is correct this is the section where the monies for foster care would be located.
If you will just bear with us Mr. Chairman, for a couple of seconds while Mr. Maychuk finds the money, the line Item.
There we go Mr. Chairman, I think we’ve got it.
Mr. Chairman, the information that is available, we can break it out by about 5 million dollars but the actual amounts we are paying out we don’t have that available.
I wonder if the member could be more specific and indicate in his question exactly if he is looking for an increase in foster care or how much is being spent or is it adequate and so on.
Chairperson: Under page 10 – 13, 3 million 828 thousand.
I think Mr. Chairman what I was looking for was a number that is allocated towards foster care and how much was spent last year and how much is budgeted this year for that service.
Chairperson (interpretation): Which one of you will respond.
Mr. Chairman, there are different categories of out of territory and in territory care.
For example, at the present time the Government of Nunavut spends 2.44 million dollars on an annual basis to provide Nunavut residents with out of territory foster care and indeed, special treatment care.
Then I have a breakdown then, Mr. Chairman, of the amount being spent and where the amount is being spent out of province, the actual dollar values for in territory, for in Nunavut I don’t have available.
We will be able to commit to the member to be able to get that information for him, by tomorrow.
Mr. Chairman, I guess the reason that I am asking that question and what I would like to get at, maybe to provide the minister and his staff with information now and maybe they can look up the rest of the information as well at the same time.
I heard on the radio I believe that it was today or yesterday that in Nunavut and especially here in Iqaluit that there is a chronic shortage of foster homes.
I guess I am just wondering if, looking at the funding levels, I don’t know if that’s one of the problems that are resulting in the shortage or not.
I was just wondering if I could find out if there was a discrepancy or change in the number and if that was something that could be effecting that. Have those numbers changed over time or is it something they are planning to look at. I guess what I was hoping to find there, other than there is apparently a shortage of foster homes and just try to see if there’s ways that could be addressed.
Mr. Chairman, I heard the radio report that the member is talking about and I think he makes a good point.
Our Department of Health and Social Services, we are trying now to actively recruit and fill the need for foster homes.
However Mr. Chairman, I can say as a foster parent, a person who has had a foster child in their care, that in most cases that I am aware of in Iqaluit, I know quite a few of the families, and I know Mr. Anawak for example is a foster parent.
Ninety percent of the families probably or higher don’t take children based on their financial remuneration that they receive.
That has statistics there that bear that out all across Canada and in any case where you have foster care.
What we are seeing is that the children now available and that are being put into foster care, in some cases there are problems with behaviour and they are harder to place in foster care.
That’s some of the concerns that we are seeing coming forward, Mr. Chairman.
But for the information of the members of the House we are working aggressively to try to alleviate that situation but again it is very difficult and we want to try and keep as many children that are placed in foster care in Nunavut, where possible.
Mr. Tootoo: I just wondered if after hearing the report if it may have been a possible deterrent from people becoming foster parents.