EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
At this time, we still want to have further discussions with the Inuit organization bodies, such as the Nunavut Tunngavik board, as they also want to know what the position of the Nunavut government is on this issue.
We will have to meet with Nunavut Tunngavik first, but to date, although it is still ongoing, we are making progress on the report detailing what we heard from the public. They have made some progress on the report and we have to meet with Nunavut Tunngavik shortly thereafter.
I appreciate the response as well, and I am sure most of Nunavut and NTI will be keenly looking for an outcome on this.
Mr. Speaker, it is not much of a question but maybe if I could just leave this with a comment that we all know Nunavummiut do require the economic development opportunities that are available from our natural resources. But as all Nunavummiut are aware too, the primary concern is for safety of environment and animal concerns.
So there are a lot of issues raised in regard to advancement of mining, but the primary core is just to remind people that they have a say in the process as well.
I appreciate the response from the Premier and look forward to future communications.
Question 153 – 3(3): Nunavut and Nunavik Polar Bear Management (Rumbolt)
I would like to direct my questions to the Minister of Environment.
Mr. Speaker, last month, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated issued a news release announcing a temporary and voluntary total quota of 60 polar bears per year for Nunavut and Nunavik hunters in the southern Hudson Bay area.
Mr. Speaker, this agreement was made in Inukjuak, Nunavik, and included participants from NTI, Makivik Corporation, Sanikiluaq Hunters and Trappers Organization, Inuit and Cree hunters, wildlife management boards, and territorial, provincial, and federal government representatives.
Mr. Speaker, the news release also indicated that this agreement was subject to approval by Nunavik hunters from the affected communities and that the development of a management plan is a long-term objective of the parties.
Mr. Speaker, can the minister provide an update on the status of this agreement from the government’s perspective?
Minister responsible for Environment, Minister Shewchuk.
The member’s information and accuracy is very good. There have been two meetings held now, one in June and one in September, in regard to southern Hudson Bay.
As everybody knows, in the springtime, it was a major concern with a great over-harvest in Quebec in regard to the southern Hudson Bay population.
A little bit of background on that is that of the population, on an annual basis, there were 45 bears harvested a year and last year, there were 110 bears harvested, so there was great concern.
Nunavut has been one of the leaders and part of the management system that’s being discussed. The players that the member indicates are Environment Canada, Northern Quebec, Makivik, all of the Inuit associations, and the HTOs.
This year, it has been agreed to that the existing harvest level for one year will be 60 bears, of which 25 will go to Nunavut, specifically to Sanikiluaq, and sustain the existing harvest that they have.
That’s what important for Nunavut and important for Sanikiluaq, that we support the community and sustain the existing harvest they have.
I thank the minister for his update.
Mr. Speaker, the news release also indicated that participants had also agreed to “continue open communications, and to collaborate on harvest information and scientific research” on the management of the polar bear population.
Can the minister indicate what the current total polar bear population is in the southern Hudson Bay area?
The total current population of bears is estimated at 950 bears for the entire population. Just to add to that too, survey work is being conducted as we speak. I believe it might be completed as of now from the Ontario perspective and it will continue next year on the Quebec portion of the population.
Your second supplementary question, Mr. Rumbolt.
I believe in the importance of local knowledge on this issue. The people of Sanikiluaq know and understand the importance of a sustainable harvest of the polar bear population.
Can the minister explain what his department is doing to ensure that this population will be available for future generations?
I can assure the member that Inuit knowledge is being used in all of our wildlife research that we do on all species of wildlife in Nunavut.
To ensure the sustainable population of the southern Hudson Bay, I think we need to make wise choices and wise decisions.
With the current harvest set at 60 for this one year, this information all needs to be analyzed after existing surveys are done and that we ensure that there is a sustainable population to harvest from.
What’s important to Nunavut is that we support and maintain Sanikiluaq’s harvest of 25 bears and that’s our focus.
Question 154 – 3(3): Suicide Prevention in Nunavut (Elliott)
The Nunavut Suicide Prevention Strategy Action Plan was tabled in September.
I would like to thank the Premier and the Minister of Health for pushing to have this document released.
Could the minister update the House on what is being done with the implementation of the action plan?
I know the partners are working hard to further develop the program aspects of the action plan.
I am satisfied that the Embrace Life Council is very involved in that. I can only indicate right now that this issue is very sensitive to many Nunavutmiut and also to me as the minister.
I intend to have a further statement developed and stated here in the House due to the fact that we must be sensitive to what’s going on throughout Nunavut and we need partners, not only with the existing partners that I mentioned; the partnership we have with Health and Social Services, which includes NTI, the Embrace Life Council, and our team members of the RCMP.
So I will make a further statement indicating exactly what the status is, but at this moment, I will defer my statement once I have consulted further with my officials.
Are there any specific details of the implementation action plan or are there any milestones that the minister could elaborate on today?
I think the member should appreciate the fact that this is a very complex situation.
I know our partners are working hard in developing the program aspects. Exactly the time schedules and everything else, I would like to include those in my statement when I do make it.
I want to assure the member that our partners are working hard and the fact that to me, as the minister, it’s a sombre aspect to deal with this thing and we need to take it continually cautiously.
We need to reach out to the families as well as those who are difficult to reach, so we want to hear from them.
From the department’s side, I can indicate to the member that I do also wish to indicate that it is important to consult further with all our partners with the other groups, for instance, the faith-based communities. I want to reach out to the church members. There could be a meeting further along before the end of the year.
That’s one aspect.
As we speak, there are some events going on in my community that are quietly meeting with the church leaders to seek help from them as well and reaching out to families because government alone is not able to reach out to those who need help, those who may be in depressing situations.
So, Mr. Speaker, I will have more to say on this before the end of the session.
In February, all regular members will start to review the operations and maintenance estimates for the Government of Nunavut for the 2012-13 fiscal year.
Will the details of the action plan be reflected as priorities in the upcoming business plan of the departments affected?
We can say as a government that we have, I think, passed an important milestone due to the fact that we have completed the strategy as well as issued the action plan.
Now that that is in place, the policy aspect of it, no doubt about it, I am satisfied that that will be one of the most important priorities of the government, to reach out to the communities throughout, and that we will definitely be including a program as well as the detailed cost presented during the main estimates session in the wintertime.
The Government of Nunavut, in collaboration with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, the RCMP, and the Embrace Life Council, has developed the new Nunavut Suicide Prevention Strategy Action Plan.
If the implementation of the action plan is based around four partners actively participating, what has your department put in place to evaluate and measure the success of its implementation?
As I indicated in my first response to the question, I will have more to say on that. I think the member can wait a few more days before I lay out of some of the details of our plan.
Question 155 – 3(3): Status of Aircraft Equipment Shelter for Chesterfield Inlet (Ningeongan)
As the minister is aware, I have been asking a number of questions about the new airport equipment shelter for Chesterfield Inlet. This project has experienced a number of delays over the past couple of years.
I am sure that the minister is as eager as I am to see the project completed so that he will not have to listen to me asking questions or attempt to answer any more questions from me on this matter.
For the benefit of the public record and my constituents who are listening today, can the minister provide me with an update on the status of this project?
I thank the member from Nanulik for that question.
Mr. Speaker, the shell of the Chesterfield Inlet equipment shelter has been complete, including the overhead doors, and there have been some issues with budgeting and so forth.
At this time, we plan on re-tendering some of the extra work that is required, which involves the mechanical, electrical, and the granular floor, and we expect to do that next month.
I was actually going to attempt to minimize my questions to one, but I would like to add one more.
Should the community expect to have that airport shelter completed by next fiscal year, meaning 2012?
As the minister responsible for Nunavut airports, yes, we wanted these equipment shelters put in place because we know for a fact that when we purchase new equipment to maintain the airports and airstrips, they have to be protected from the elements, especially from the extreme cold.
With the protection of the equipment, it prolongs the life and the use, and we get better value for our money for the airport equipment that we do purchase for Nunavut communities.
Yes, with the re-tendering, I’m sure once that’s done later next month, we would be in a good position to complete the project by next fall.
Question 156 – 3(3): ASIST Workshop for Nunavut School Staff (Elliott)
On October 21, 2010, the coalition of DEAs passed a motion that urged the Department of Education as a matter of the highest priority to make suicide alertness and intervention training available to all staff in Nunavut schools who wish to take it as soon as possible and on an ongoing basis.
My question is: how has your department responded to this motion?
The training programs related to suicide prevention and intervention, which are to be provided in the schools, are very important to this government.
Another important factor is to have our students and all staff in the school aware of the facts surrounding this issue.
In September 2009, in cooperation with the Nunavut Teachers Association, they took a training program on applied suicide intervention skills training.
We had approximately 120 teachers involved in this training program.
We also provided more training to student counsellors held in February 2010. Additionally, this program was offered in February 2010 with about 20 individuals participating during the teachers’ conference here in Iqaluit.
In May 2010, they held another workshop in Pond Inlet’s Nasivvik High School.
In February 2011, this program was offered as a course in Cambridge Bay during the Kitikmeot Regional Teachers’ Conference.
To date, we’ve had 160 teachers take this intervention training and they are all within our schools.
Also, upcoming in November 2011, in collaboration with the Nunavut Teachers Association and the Department of Health and Social Services, we will offer a training program for approximately 60 participants in November 2011.
In terms of initiating an ASIST workshop in a local school, what’s the process for the staff to be able to be trained?
If I understood the gist of the member’s question, I believe he asked what the teachers need to do to participate in an ASIST workshop. What do teachers have to do if they want the training or how can they apply?
If teachers wish to attend this course, they can submit an application to their principal.
It’s my understanding that in February of 2012, professional development activities for all Nunavut teachers will occur here in Iqaluit.
Is the ASIST training going to be provided to Nunavut teachers who wish to take it at this event?
Hon. Eva Aariak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) As I said earlier, in November 2011, in partnership with the Nunavut Teachers Association and the Department of Health and Social Services, we will offer the ASIST program to approximately 60 students. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Question 157 – 3(3): Construction of the New Conservation Office in Coral Harbour (Ningeongan)
I would like to direct my questions to the Minister of Community and Government Services, whose department plays a major role in the government tendering process and project management.
Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the construction of the new conservation office in Coral Harbour will not occur until next summer.
Can the minister explain what specific reasons caused this delay?
I understand that there were some issues with the site location and availability of the land was one of the issues regarding the construction of the renewable resource office, from my understanding.
From what I was led to understand from the Coral Harbour Hamlet Council, the issue was already dealt with in August of this year. Also, I want to mention that the lot that was to be used to locate this new facility, the existing building is actually sitting on that lot, so it was a matter of changing the title for the lot from residential to commercial. I felt that the onus of delays shouldn’t be focused on the community’s effort to not provide any information, perhaps.
For this reason, Mr. Speaker, I have a concern which pertains to the lack of communication between the department and the municipality concerning such projects.
I was informed of the delay because I asked for the status of this project during our standing committee meetings. However, the municipality was not informed on the issue.
Mr. Speaker, this is not an isolated incident. There is a lack of communication between the department and other municipalities throughout our territory on infrastructure projects.
What steps will the minister take to address this issue?
Hon. Lorne Kusugak: Mr. Speaker, I wish it was that simple. I’ll have to take another look at all of the details pertaining to what he said the hamlet said. I don’t want to work under he said, she said assumptions.
I know we get into issues regarding communications. It is something that we work at to do our best to communicate with municipalities, other departments, and other people we have to work with. We will continue to strive to have as good a communication as we can.
I will look into the exact details and we will have to find out if those are the only issues that were at hand. When you deal with policies, by-laws, and issues with land, title of land, and turnover of land, it becomes a little more complicated than being told, “Yes, go ahead and just build there.” I’ll look into that.
As for improving communications with municipalities, we continue to strive to communicate with the municipalities as best we could.
That is just the point that I’m trying to make.
When there’s lack of communication, I shouldn’t have to be an MLA asking a question only to find out that there has been a delay.
So in order to prevent that kind of problem from arising in the future, I sincerely ask the minister to address this issue so that anything of that nature will not have to be dealt with again.
I felt that the Hamlet Council of Coral Harbour did the very logical thing, which was to identify the issue and change the title of that lot, but then only to end up being used as part of the rationale for the delay.
I felt that the onus should have been on Community and Government Services to provide adequate information, especially when there was a delay.
Hon. Lorne Kusugak: I appreciate that and I would have to check the timelines in terms of when the municipality said, “You could go ahead and use the land or you could construct there.”
If we were told, “You have to take a look and analyze,” when did this information get passed by the municipality? When did they say you could go ahead and build it?
We will have to take a closer look as to all of those issues pertaining to why construction was delayed.
I’ll check into the responsibility of our department and work with my colleague with renewable resources and we will see if we can’t deal with the matter.
I would also like to stress that in this case, the Department of Environment was given adequate funding to provide a capital item to the community of Coral Harbour.
Do I understand correctly that the Department of CGS is responsible for making sure that the capital item identified is tendered out and so forth and managed so that it comes into play at the time it was supposed to, which was this fall? I understand, as I stated earlier, that it’s not coming until this coming summer. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Hon. Lorne Kusugak: Thank you. When the departments are putting out tender calls, RFPs, and so forth, our department will work with the client department in terms of providing terms of reference and a description of goods and services required.
We work with them, we work through the tendering process, and at the end of the day, we work with them to ensure that what they are requesting is worked on, Mr. Speaker.
Question 158 – 3(3): Emergency Preparedness at Nunavut Health Centres (Elliott)
Mr. Speaker, the communications failure of the Anik 2 satellite was a real eye-opener for many of us. For the professionals and service providers in our communities, it raised an awareness of new challenges to doing their jobs as more and more aspects of delivering services rely on digital communication.
I am confident that since the communications blackout of October 2, the Department of Health and Social Services must be one of the first to evaluate how service delivery was impacted by the loss of communication ability.
Can the minister clearly describe what lessons were learned as a result of this unexpected occurrence?
I am not sure whether I can add any further to what my colleague, the Minister of CGS, indicated as minister responsible emergency preparedness and so on.
I think he made it quite clear that we were fortunate that there were no major disasters or whatnot or emergencies that occurred in terms of other aspects aside from the communication failure.
Certainly we have learned something and the government is preparing communication equipment systems. Once these discussions are completed, I’m sure my colleague will announce to the House exactly what kind of preparedness and equipment are being planned.
I know my officials are working hard to try and work with CGS to develop equipment that would be in every health centre.
We certainly did learn a lot and we are lucky and fortunate that no major disaster occurred, particularly with respect to a health situation.
It was broadcast over the radio for frontline workers to contact headquarters via satellite phone. I know that in your response, you had mentioned about Minister Kusugak’s response as well. He had mentioned that satellite phones would be going to the health centres.
I was wondering if he knew exactly when. As all three of my communities did not have satellite phones and relied on search and rescue response teams and also the RCMP for assistance, do you have a date of when those satellite phones will be going to the communities?
No, I don’t have a date.
I would say that my colleague would likely respond to that. I would say the request for equipment of this nature will likely normally go through a tendering process as well. So I’m not in a position at all to comment on that, other than the fact that our officials jointly, all levels of government, are working hard to ensure that we are equipped and ready to deal with this kind of situation if it does happened again.
Following recent events, many communities have renewed their efforts to have emergency preparedness plans in place.
Can the minister confirm that all Nunavut health centres have their own emergency preparedness plans?
Hon. Tagak Curley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll be prepared to respond more fully before the session is over on that issue because I think that during the pandemic situation like we had with H1N1 stuff, we were pretty well a lot more advanced, I think, in preparing pandemic preparedness plans for every community. I’ll be prepared to provide that information once I have consulted with my officials.
It is always important to use our past experiences to review our ability to deal with unexpected events and to plan forward based on lessons learned.
The recent communications blackout lasted only 18 hours, but it could have lasted longer.
Given that much of our medical information will soon be stored electronically and information such as X-rays and blood test results are stored and forwarded digitally, can the minister advise this House what backup plans are in place to have a system of redundancy available so that important health information is not inaccessible to health care workers during a communications outage?
Hon. Tagak Curley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take that question as notice.
Question 159 – 3(3): Moving Forward on the Suicide Prevention Plan (Elliott)
Again my questions are based around the Nunavut Suicide Prevention Strategy Action Plan. Has a business case been established to figure out how much the implementation of the action plan will cost?
As I indicated earlier, I will have more to indicate in a prepared statement before too long and I assure the member that, no doubt, it will be included in my statement.
Preliminarily, I can say to the member that the implementation plan for this action plan is a three-year program that the partners are working on.
Having said that, we need to work with our partners to provide a detailed costing of the three-year action plan.
So I think that will take a bit of time and it could be ready, but when I do make my statement, it will include some of the costs involved.
Please be assured that this is a living document which will be adjusted from time to time to reflect changes and improvements that we have learned.
I think that when I make a statement on that, these ideas will include part of that.
Has the federal government been approached to ensure that the GN has the resources necessary to fully implement the action plan?
Yes, Mr. Speaker, currently the federal government provides a significant amount of funding through the aboriginal portion of the funding they normally channel through the GN and some of it goes to our partners.
NTI and the Embrace Life Council normally receive about $500,000 a year from the federal government, which they incorporated into their implementation aspect of the whole suicide action plan.
I can say to the member offhand, which I will provide in more detail, my colleague from the executive, our Premier, indicated that the budget funding for ASIST training, for instance, normally comes through the federal government contribution aspect; $200,000 towards that program, ASIST training, and $150,000 for community-related programming, which the Embrace Life Council will work with the community to figure out exactly how the community wishes to be involved.