EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
We’re all very aware of the difficulties in recruiting people for specialized positions, such as nurses who the Minister of Health did a Statement on today, engineers and biologists.
We know that in order to retain good people we have to provide a degree of certainty and stability in their lives.
Mr. Speaker, like other Members in this House, I am in complete favour of decentralization and I agree that bringing jobs and opportunities into the smaller communities is a worthy goal.
However, I’m concern that the actual implementation of the decentralization, has in some cases, become a numbers game where some positions are shuffled and lives are disrupted simply to meet the miracle target.
Mr. Speaker, we know from the Government Inuit Employment Statistics that Government of Nunavut has never come close to reaching the full capacity.
This problem is made worse with a climate of uncertainty and unpredictability.
Mr. Speaker, I want to make it clear that I do not oppose decentralization.
However, I do not believe decentralization itself will be a success if it is done in a way that it alienates our workforce and makes hasty decisions based on arbitrary targets.
Question 646 – 1(6): Liquor Warehouse Contract
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for Finance in regards his Minister’s Statement today.
Mr. Speaker, I know that the Minister put out RFPs earlier this year in regards to establishing a liquor warehouse in Rankin Inlet and I also note that this RFP went out not on government letterhead or not noteing the Minister responsible to forward on there.
I noticed also in the Ministers statement that he does not indicate who the proponents were that will have the contract with establishing the liquor warehouse.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he could inform this House as to who was the successful contractor on this RFP contract.
Mr. Speaker, there is a letter of intent to enter into a lease with KPM of Rankin Inlet.
Supplementary. Mr. Tootoo
Maybe the Minister can indicate who the KPM is?
And also, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister if he can indicate how many proposals the department received for this.
Speaker: Mr. Ng
I understand the KPM is an acronym for Kivalliq or Keewatin Property Management.
My understanding is that there three proposals received.
They were reviewed by a Committee, which included the Public Works and Services representatives, and Finance department representatives.
And the recommendation was made to award to KPM based on those recommendations.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister indicate to us who the other two proposers were?
No I can’t because I was not involved directly in reviewing of that; the recommendation came directly from the Committee that oversaw the review of the proposal that we received.
But I can obtain that information if the Member is interested and respond to you later.
Question 647 – 1(6): Rental Assistance for Homeowners
I’m not sure if other people are in the same situation but I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services, in the Northwest Territories days we were building quite a few homeownership programs and if you had built a house and lived in it for five years, then it would become your own.
As we know, those people who own homes have either moved on or built other new houses and have either rented it or leased it to their children and if their children are not working.
I’m wondering if the Minister can find out whether these people that are leasing or renting these houses who are not working are on financial assistance, would their houses be taken back? Can we get them if they are not able to make payments for rent or lease?
I am wondering if the Minister responsible for Income Support can look into this.
When people are in financial hardship and can’t keep up with fuel bill payments or rent and are not generating any income, if they can’t keep up with the rental payments we do have assistance programs through income support and I will look into the matter that the Member is referring to.
The reason why I brought this up is because we all know that there are many homes that are owned by Inuit and because they’ve been living there five years, that there are quite a few of those types of homes.
The danger here is that the homeowner, if they were to move and left that home to their child and the child did not have any income coming in either because that owner has other rental properties in other communities and are unable to keep up with the payments, but when the children who are living in the house, are unable to pay due to lack of employment or what have you, I’m wondering if there is an assistance program through the income support program and I’m glad that she said there is.
I’d just like to clarify that the children who live in these homes cannot keep up with payments that have depended on their parents home and they don’t want to lose that home, there is a concern there.
Is there a program where they can be assisted for that type of problem?
The parent who owns the home who has left the unit to their children is required to document that the unit will be now leased over either to the son or the daughter who will be responsible for the unit.
They need to have this in writing to confirm that they are in fact taking care of the house on behalf of the parent and if they are not working and are on income support can apply through this program.
They need that letter to confirm that they are in fact residing in that house and if they are not working, that they have no means of incomes, then they can get support through this program and that is according to the criteria.
Question 648 – 1(6): Location of Power Headquarters
I smile to you; I was just about falling asleep.
My question is directed to the Minister of the Power Corporation, where is the Headquarters located?
Mr. Speaker, the official Headquarters of the Power Corporation is in that wonderful community Baker Lake.
And thank you, for that clarification.
What is your Headquarter staff doing in the communities regarding the billing of power bills and what authority do they have?
They have all the authority that is vested in their employees of the Power Corporation.
The issue that the Member talking about in the state of the billing.
We have had problems, Mr. Speaker, at the Power Corporation with the billing software, which collates and collaborates the invoicing of customers’ power bill.
Just this morning I met with I think three Members and talked about I think billing charges and so on with their power bill in different communities.
So, we are, we are aware of those issues as well as concerns with the ways data input has been done.
So, Mr. Speaker, you can be, right now, up to you know, between thirty and sixty days late on some of the Power Corporation bills between the payment time and when the bill is received and that is why we always specify and try to let our customers know that they should keep receipts of payments when they are made.
So, I hope that helps clarify the question for the Member.
He says that they are at times up to sixty days late and I am wondering, due to the correctness of that information, the Nunavummiut were hearing is that they are quite regretful for the creation of Nunavut because they have lost a lot of respect and the problems that have risen due to the creation of Nunavut.
And once Nunavut was created, we seem to have lost a lot of our respect and our rights as Nunavummiut and especially, the consumers have lost respect in the system and so, I would like to get more information regarding the billing process within Nunavut for power, for homeowners and other consumers; how many months is the billing period or how long is the notice period for these bills and how long will it take for the notice until their power can be cut off if they are late paying their bill?
Before I answer the question, particularly, I just want to say a couple of things.
First of all, Mr. Speaker, on the creation of Nunavut, on April 1st, 1999, every person in this room knows that we did not even have a building to meet in; we were meeting in the Cadet Hall and the Legion.
It was only two years ago, Mr. Speaker, that we started our own Power Corporation.
We believed at that time it was the right move to make.
In this case the Member’s home community of Clyde River, and he knows better than anyone, the capitalization costs of a new power plant in the community based on what Yellowknife used to do, in the Northwest Territories Government, meant that the power rates in the Member’s community, to pay for this new power plant, would have gone up 150%.
Because we had our own Power Corporation in the Government of Nunavut, there was no increase in Clyde River on their bill.
That has to be pointed out.
Mr. Speaker, there has been some problems with the Power Corporation, in setting it up, we have not had a rate change since 1998, that is five years.
There is no business in the world that continues to operate on a profit, selling the same product to the same place as they did five year ago.
That is important to point out.
In every case on the Power Corporation it has not changed since the Northwest Territories on the billing.
People get sixty days notice, thirty days notice, and a two week notice, and a forty-eight hour notice before the bill is cut off.
And I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, if the Power Corporation has made a mistake, and they have made mistakes in the past for someone’s power has been cut off, should not have been cut off, and they have copies of the receipts, or invoices paid, then we have to interceded on their behalf, and they have been credited back that money.
Mr. Speaker, the people in the community working for the Power Corporation have a very tough job.
They receive notification from either the Baker Lake Office, the Rankin Inlet Office, the Iqaluit Office, or the Cambridge Bay Office, and say that Ed Picco has not paid his bill.
He has received a ninety days notice, a sixty days notice, a thirty days notice; he has received a forty-eight hour notice, please cut off his power.
If Ed can show that indeed, no, Ed has paid that bill, I’ve got my receipt from my invoice, and so on and so forth; they will not cut the power off.
So that is the framework that is in place.
I think that it is important, Mr. Speaker, to point out that if there has been a mistake made, and if the Member is aware of an individual who has paid and the power was cut off, then we can move in there.
However, Mr. Speaker, the Power Corporation has been running like Bell Canada cuting off people’s phone bills if they do not get paid, and that is the way it is in the year 2003.
Also, Mr. Speaker, when we get closer to the winter months, we do not cut off the power.
It is against the law to cut off the power when you get into the months of November, December, January and February.
In some cases where someone has a bill that is $2,000, or $3,000, they actually put a regulator on the account where they actually have power, but it is for the furnace, the washer, the dryer, the fridge and the stove, and not for any other peripheral.
So I hope that helps answer the Member’s question.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): I do not think so.
I am quite well aware and I have worked with him through the process and acquiring the Nunavut Power Corporation.
There could have been a thirty to forty percent increase in the power rates at that time, and I was involved in that process, so I am very aware of it.
Today, I am asking him specifically what presently is being done.
He said that even if they have a bill of $3,000, they will not cut off the power.
Why is he saying something that is not factual?
At times in my community, they have a bill for less than $100, and their power is cut off.
Much mistreatment is happening in my community and I am sure that I am not the only one.
They have power bills that are less than $100, and they have to get their power cut off.
I am wondering if he can say something more factual.
My colleague here, I can use an example in Toonoonik, he had a bill of $93, and was threatened that his power would be cut off if he does not pay it the next day.
That is the type of treatment that we are putting up with.
When is he going to rectify this matter?
Speaker: Minister Picco, just before you proceed, I would like to caution the Member on comments and words that refer to the Minister’s integrity.
Words like honesty are not correct.
I don’t believe that’s your intent, but they’re not words that we permit in the house.
Mr. Speaker, as the Minister Responsible for the Power Corporation, I’m aware and made aware of cases where your power is being cut off at people’s residences on a daily basis at times.
Mr. Speaker, it doesn’t matter what the amount of the bill if someone cuts off your power.
And I’ll give you an example.
It doesn’t matter if you’re in Nunavut or anywhere else.
If you haven’t paid your phone bill and it’s only $10 dollars and you haven’t paid it for six months, they’ll cut you off.
If you haven’t paid your visa bill and it’s only $50 dollars and you haven’t paid it for six months, you have no credit coverage.
Mr. Speaker, the power corporation is in the same situation.
If you have a bill for $50 dollars and you haven’t paid it for 90 days, that’s three months, then the power corporation is in the position to collect.
Mr. Speaker, everyone, every person, every citizen of Nunavut owns the power corporation.
Everyone of them.
It’s ours.
Mr. Speaker, that corporation needs to collect money owed to it, whether it’s $50 dollars or $3,000 dollars.
Mr. Speaker, I have just met again with some Members this morning, I’ve asked our communications, Mr. Jobie Inooya to phone each community and go on each local radio station and explain how the billing is done and so that we can have it articulated properly and he can answer questions and so on.
Again, that’s a part of the communications strategy so that people in Nunavut can understand.
That would not have happened if we were still governed out of Hay River, I can guarantee you that.
Mr. Speaker, I can tell the Member if he has a copy of a person’s bill that had their power cut off because they only owed $50 dollars in a one month period or something, I would be more than happy to make sure that’s rectified.
I can tell you Mr. Speaker, in all seriousness and honesty, in every case that’s been made known to me and we have interceded where we have made mistakes.
And we’ve tried to correct those and we have corrected them.
We’re not going to cut someone’s power off in the middle of January and put them in hardship.
That’s why Mr. Speaker, because we haven’t cut people off, they’ve continued to add to their bills.
Their bill might have been only $100 dollars and we couldn’t cut them off in December or January or February.
When March or April comes, they might owe $800 or $1,000 dollars because you never cut them off the first time.
That’s okay Mr. Speaker, because we’re not there to cause problems for someone.
So in conclusion, Mr. Speaker, very quickly, if the Member has a copy of the bill and the date and so on, then I’d be very happy to look at it as the Minister Responsible and I will have Mr. Jobie Inooya from the power corporation contact each community by radio and make sure that the billing is understandable and indeed maybe Mr. Speaker, doing something in the local newspapers and so on for communications purposes.
Question 649 – 1(6): Update on Rankin Inlet Plebiscite
My question today is for the Minister Responsible for the Liquor Act.
On January of 2002, the residents of Chesterfield Inlet voted in a plebiscite to establish an alcohol education committee.
Can the Minister tell me what’s happening with the plebiscite?
Speaker: Minister Responsible for the Liquor Act.
Hon. Kelvin Ng: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct and the plebiscite was successful in the request to establish an alcohol committee for that community.
There were draft regulations surrounding the establishment of the committee were drafted but I must say right now they haven’t been enacted to date, Mr. Speaker.
Why is it taking so long to establish the regulations?
Is there a problem and what is it?
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, there were some draft regulations that were drafted.
There were some issues, as I understand, they were outstanding in respect to how to establish a Committee within the community itself.
And quite frankly, I believe that there were some miscommunications between the Hamlet and the Government at that time and that is why it has kind of sat there; nobody has followed up on the response on the issues that were outstanding to make that happen.
But having said that, Mr. Speaker, the Member has pointed this out to me and we will ensure that we will work with the community to make sure those regulations are put in place as quickly as possible to allow for that mechanism to be utilized in the community.
Question 650 – 1(6): RCMP Detachment in Kugluktuk
I would like to direct my question to the Minister responsible for Department of Justice.
(interpretation) First of all, I would like to mention and the Minister is aware of this issue.
The RCMP office, there are five in that area, five RCMP constables.
They are not there all at once, there are maybe three, there may be four at times.
The space is small and they have mentioned this to me many times.
Just last week people in Kugluktuk come together to meet; people were incarcerated in that building also; people are not happy with that.
At times, those that are incarcerated might be fifteen or twenty in the two little spaces that are available for them.
I just want to ask the Minister when will the office space and the incarceration areas be rectified and be looked at.
Yes, this might be the responsibility of the Federal Government, but this is directed to the Minister responsible.
As Members may be aware, our government funds the operations of the RCMP; we do not fund capital projects of the RCMP. That is the responsibility of the Federal Government.
We are all aware, also, that we just recently opened a new detachment in other communities and some of those detachments do not have any detachments.
I believe there needs to be a little bit of leeway here and that we are trying to open up stations elsewhere and I can understand the frustration of the community and have conveyed the same to the RCMP.
But they are trying to do their best and trying to manage the number of detachments and establishing new ones, opening up new offices throughout the territory and it is difficult for them to accommodate everybody at the same time.
Thank you, Minister for your response, but you are aware of those incarceration areas are very small as well as the constables’ office space.
Can the Minister assist the Federal Government or approach the RCMP so that these areas can be looked at to be able to accommodate more people?
I will do whatever I can; as I said, I am not trying to defend this issue, but I am just trying to explain what the RCMP are going through right now.
There is, maybe in the community that does not have a detachment and they are trying to get one.
So, we are just building new ones and it takes a little longer, but we are trying to do our best working with them and trying to determine what are the priority areas.
So, I will convey the Member’s concerns to the RCMP.
You’re willing to assist as you mentioned to me, maybe to attempt as to when these will happen.
Are you looking at Nunavummiut as to the spaces that are available to the RCMP for office space and those that are incarcerated?
When will these begin to come about?
How will these come about in the future?
Hon. Paul Okalik: I wish I could respond but the money that is used for these projects is federal money so the Federal Government decides how much and where.
What we do is lobby for Nunavut.
RCMP is a national police force and they have a budget to manage for projects throughout the country and we try to help them out in making sure that the bulk of that money is spent in Nunavut.
We’ll continue to do that.
So, we’ll do our best in lobbying for Nunavut projects to move ahead of other projects in the country.
When they are planning to do things with the Federal Government as to what is going to come about in the future, with projects and what not, it’s good to hear those comments from you.
Once you meet with the RCMP, I’d like to see some of the plans as to which communities and what projects that have gone on.
Because as you mentioned, you’ve worked with the RCMP on a number of cases.
If you get together with them, in terms of the planning process, as to where the RCMP offices will be and those places of incarceration, I’d like a copy of that plan.
I’m quite willing but I don’t have the ability to decide which ones go where.
I wish I could but we will show the Member what the RCMP have done.
In the past year they were building new detachments in Whale Cove and Chesterfield Inlet.
So for this past year, because there was none, so, that’s what they’ve been doing for the past year that I’m aware.
I’ll convey whatever plans they may have for other communities.
Question 651 – 1(6): Location of New Community Corrections Officers
I would like to direct my question to the Minister Responsible for Justice.
I have a question regarding the comments he made yesterday about the ten probation officers that he mentioned.
Which communities are they based in?
We have from our review, identified Iqaluit, Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, Arviat, Baker Lake, Pangnirtung and we’re also looking at the other communities for community corrections officers.
Those communities that he mentioned are not ten but what I can say is that these communities that he referred should have more than one social worker.
If that’s the case and if someone was put on probation, the two social workers would be dealing with either the abuser or the victim.
In the smaller communities, they have one social worker and no community corrections officers.
What kinds of plans are there for those communities that only have one social worker and whether you could put in community corrections officers and what kind of plans the Department of Justice has on this issue?
It’s an ongoing review that we’ve been doing as a department.
If we look at Arctic Bay, we have done a review but there is no building to house these types of services.
But we have identified a PY. We’ve had no money but we’re looking to the Federal Government and we’re looking at how we can, if we can come to an agreement with the Federal Government.
We are looking at additional funds so that we can give those types of services to those communities.
I thank you for including Arctic Bay.
I do know that there are other communities that require those types of services.
I think there’s been a two year ongoing review on the community corrections officers and the provision of services.
Those communities, especially the smaller community and the non-decentralized communities need those services.
Can the Minister inform me as to what kinds of plans they have in place?
We are looking at the number of people who need probation services and based on the numbers that we found, we determined who places those community corrections officers where the services are needed the most.
As I said earlier, we are lobbying the Federal Government because we have to find the funding in order to provide the services and there has to be an ongoing budget for the provision of services.
I would be extremely pleased if I found additional funds that could set up those types of services in the communities.
But at the present moment we are looking at the RCMP detachments and it did not take us over night to find the funds to get those detachments going and so on.
We’re not just sitting; we are looking into and trying to find the funds.
What the Premier is saying is that they are looking at the numbers before they place the community corrections officers.
There are many inmates who need those services and they are spending more time in jails because they cannot go on early probations because there are no corrections officers.
You will need more corrections officers if there are more inmates.
The Minister needs to look at his Department and find out which employee would be going to the communities.