EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
However, last year or the year before, we had a pilot project to have all hamlet maintainers taught on how to maintain the dust suppressant that is put on the road so that it can be on for the longest time.
So they are now starting to utilize dust suppression methods in the communities.
Thank you for providing that response.
With regard to that training you just alluded to, can you provide a bit more detail on how often or how far apart it takes between these training sessions when they are touring the communities for dust control?
Let me try to recall. This year or the year before, there was a training course being offered for the road maintainers who were to apply dust suppressant onto the road.
We had regional courses. There was one in the Kivalliq in Arviat, in the Kitikmeot, and in the Baffin.
They also had a course where either the hamlet foreman or road maintainer participated.
They came from local road crews and they were taught how to apply dust suppressant and how best to ensure that it stuck to the road. They were taught a lot of these practices.
Mr. Speaker, I have visited many communities and I have actually seen firsthand dust suppressant being applied with a bucket and they just pour it on the road.
Obviously, when it dries out, it becomes dusty again.
Some other communities just shovel on the suppressant.
When you apply dust suppressant properly on top of the gravel road, it takes quite a while before it dries out and this ensures the longevity of the dust suppressant.
There was a training session, but to date, I’m not aware if there were any other courses held after that date.
When the government provided funding for road paving in Iqaluit in the year 2008, it acknowledged that reducing dust helps to improve public health.
I believe that there are 24 other communities that would benefit from better dust control.
Would the minister be willing to commit to working with the ministers of Health and Environment to develop a Nunavut-wide dust control strategy?
We’re constantly trying to find a better mousetrap or a better way of suppressing dust.
It is a very serious issue.
There are people with chronic illnesses and stuff who have a really hard time in the summer during our dry season to be outside, especially when there’s a lot of dust.
What we have found so far is the most economical way to deal with it is with the dust suppressant that the municipalities have.
I think we have given a pretty good training program in that regard, and we will continue and we do continue to try to find better ways of dealing with dust control.
My colleague mentioned the paving in Iqaluit. It is a form dust control, but I assure my colleague that dust still does prevail of all things.
We have to take a look at costs of paving roads, and then the maintenance, and it just goes on and on.
I assure my colleague, though, Mr. Speaker, that we will continue and we do continue to find better ways to try to deal with dust suppressants. As we find them, we will work with the municipalities to ensure there are ways we can deal with dust in our communities.
In 2002, the government produced a publication titled “Environmental Guideline for Dust Suppression.”
Will the minister commit to having his department work with the Department of Environment to update this publication, Mr. Speaker?
Hon. Lorne Kusugak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also thank the Member for Pangnirtung for raising that question.
These publications are produced from time to time, as well as new initiatives. They are updated when required.
When the time elapses for the produced material, it will be updated.
Question 275 – 3(3): Power Outages in Pond Inlet (Enook)
Good afternoon, residents of Pond Inlet and my fellow Nunavummiut.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to direct my questions to the Minister responsible for the Qulliq Energy Corporation.
Mr. Speaker, last week, I made a Member’s Statement in the House concerning the issue of recent power outages in my community of Pond Inlet.
I would like to ask the minister if he can explain what the corporation is doing to address the issue of the reliability of Pond Inlet’s power generation facilities.
I also thank Mr. Enook for raising that question.
First of all, let me state that I appreciate you thanking our employees who dealt with this issue during a very cold and dark season.
I also thank them for their dedication, Mr. Speaker.
I really appreciate them because I don’t want to be in their shoes, working on these issues in the cold and dark.
First of all, I want to thank the employees of the Qulliq Energy Corporation in Pond Inlet.
I am also very happy that I received a letter from the mayor and hamlet expressing their gratitude to the workers.
It is very good to see our employees get recognized, either from the Nunavut government or the local government. It is much appreciated.
Mr. Speaker, the reasons for the blackouts seem to have been dealt with.
We’re not sure what else will break, but in the case of Pond Inlet, there was an electrical issue that caused the blackout. The parts that caused those blackouts have been fixed.
In 2010, a news report indicated that the Qulliq Energy Corporation would be receiving federal funding to help replace aging fuel generators in eight Nunavut communities.
It indicated that more fuel-efficient and reliable generators would be installed in the communities of Arviat, Cambridge Bay, Chesterfield Inlet, (interpretation ends) Gjoa Haven, (interpretation) and I apologize for not remembering what that community is called in Inuktitut, Rankin Inlet, Resolute Bay, Whale Cove, and Pond Inlet.
My question for the minister is: can you confirm if my community of Pond Inlet received a new fuel generator and, if not, does the corporation still plan to?
With the power generation issue in Nunavut, some of them are indeed very ancient.
They are very old in some communities. It’s impossible to replace them all at once. Based on the communities he listed, we will be replacing them in the coming years.
The basis of my knowledge related to the Pond Inlet generators is they have to be changed after so many hours because they become less efficient.
Based on the information I have, the generator is supposed to be replaced in 2012-14, looking at the number of hours that the generator has run, which is nearing its end.
So that’s all I can state based on what I know about the issue.
Just so I’m clear on this, am I to understand that somewhere in 2012, Pond Inlet will be one of the recipients of a new generator?
I also apologize to the community of Gjoa Haven because I couldn’t remember their Inuktitut name.
Hon. Lorne Kusugak (interpretation): No, your understanding didn’t quite reflect what I stated.
What I was saying was that somewhere between 2012 and 2014, Pond Inlet ought to receive the new generator when their current generator exceeds its number of lifetime hours.
I think you have clarified that issue for Mr. Enook.
Question 276 – 3(3): Additional Office Space for Sanikiluaq (Rumbolt)
Mr. Speaker, in the past, I have raised the issue of the lack of office space in Sanikiluaq. In particular, the health centre is overcrowded with health centre staff plus other GN employees.
Can the minister update the House today on what his department is doing to acquire additional office space in Sanikiluaq?
In consultation with other departments within the Government of Nunavut, we put out an RFP for office space in Sanikiluaq.
Unfortunately we had no responses, but since then, we have secured office space for a GLO office, Mr. Speaker.
At present, the local health centre is used by nurses, mental health workers, social workers, and home care workers, causing overcrowded working conditions for staff.
Can the minister give us some sort of timeline when additional office space will be available for Sanikiluaq?
Mr. Speaker, I can’t unfortunately give that information. We’re continually trying to find office space and in cases where we don’t, such as this, we have to try to seek ways in order to create office spaces in communities.
It’s a sad reality. We will continue, though, to try to seek ways to create more space.
I could see the frustrations from government staff and the community. We continue to work with other departments within government to try to alleviate the office space issue.
Question 277 – 3(3): Contracting Process for Air Ambulance and Medical Travel Services (Curley)
I would like to continue my line of questioning about this matter. All airlines are required to have proper licensing. Airplanes have to be completely safe operationally, especially air ambulances and medical flights.
I also want all residents of Nunavut to completely understand that the government has to inform their residents on how much the government places priority on them, particularly with respect to safety and the proposed air ambulance services they offer to our residents who are in ill health. That is my reason.
Mr. Speaker, the people of Nunavut and the public need to know that only the federal government, specifically the Canadian Transportation Agency, can provide licences to aircraft.
The Nunavut government does not have the mandate to license any aircraft.
Due to this reason, I would like to pose this question to the Minister of Community and Government Services.
In order to make it clear, I will ask my first question in English.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, I have repeatedly raised the issue of the need to ensure that the companies which the government signs contracts need to have an air operator licence issued by the federal authorities.
Why does the minister oppose this requirement?
Mr. Curley, that’s an interesting question coming from the former Minister of Health and Social Services up until, I think, he resigned at the end of November.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Curley was the minister responsible on all the RFPs for air ambulances that were issued last year and all the medical travel contracts. He was the minister responsible when the RFPs were awarded.
He was the minister responsible when the residents in my region, in the Kitikmeot, were asking him about concerns about the air ambulance and contract in the Kitikmeot.
On October 31 of last year, he stood up in this House and reassured all members and residents of the Kitikmeot that change in service providers would not change the level and quality of service of air ambulances in the Kitikmeot.
Obviously, Mr. Speaker, the former Minister of Health had no issues with safety when he was the minister. I do not know why he has a concern now as a regular member.
I can certainly articulate my point of view and recollection on these matters if I choose to do so.
Mr. Speaker, the question is with respect to the current policy of the government.
Why does the Minister of CG&S oppose the requirement to have the operators to have a certificate of air compliance requirements from Transport Canada or from the Canadian Air Transportation Agency?
Hon. Keith Peterson: Mr. Speaker, again, the former Minister of Health is asking questions that he could have asked when he was the Minister of Health and I guess he didn’t.
Hon. Keith Peterson: Now, as a regular member, he feels he can ask.
Mr. Speaker, I am not aware that the Minister responsible for Community and Government Services opposes safety for medical travel contracts or air ambulance.
As I have indicated, the issue of compliance to have air certificate is key for safety of passenger medical services.
Why does the Department of CG&S officials oppose to requiring contractors of medical to have air certificates issued by Transport Canada?
Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Curley. Mr. Curley, your first questions were to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
You can’t ask a different minister questions on the same one, so you would have to use another question at a different time to ask the Minister of Community and Government Services a question.
So do you have a third supplementary for the Minister of Health and Social Services?
On the question of a clarification issue, I quoted… .
My first question was really to the Minister of CG&S, even though I indicated in my preamble that the Minister of Health did respond to some issues the previous day.
I’ll review the Hansard, but I’m pretty sure I heard the Minister of Health and Social Services right off the bat.
If I was incorrect, then we will let you know, but we will have to review the Hansard and go back on that.
Question 278 – 3(3): 2010-11 Procurement Activity (Ell)
My question is to the Minister of Economic Development responsible for the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation.
I am glad to see the procurement activity report from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009 and April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.
I have had an opportunity to review this briefly and my first question on the procurement activity would be: when will the next procurement activity from 2010-11 be forthcoming?
As soon as it’s available for tabling, I will surely do that.
In reviewing the procurement contracts for over $5,000 in the two years the procurement activities were submitted, it seems most of the procurements were for sole sourcing and for standing offers.
My question to the minister would be in especially looking at the bookkeeping services that we can see.
There were bookkeeping services acquired from BC. I’m wondering if there is a reason for not having bookkeeping services from Nunavut.
As the member is well aware, between 2005 and 2007 and leading up to the end of this report, the corporation was in dire straits, as members recall, and we needed all the help that we can get.
I don’t have the level of detail of why this person is from BC, but during that period of time, we were trying to fix up and update all the loan portfolios and the finances of NBCC.
That’s why you will see in the report most of the sole sourcing and standing offer contracts.
Mr. Speaker, once I have the level of details that she is looking for, I will surely pass that on to the member.
As we move ahead and the level of (interpretation) skills and capacity of Nunavummiut is increasing, are we looking at our future needs when we try to train more people? I ask because we have many people who are already capable of filling these duties and we have many qualified people here. Can the minister provide his vision as to how people from Nunavut with the requisite skills can eventually take over these financial duties?
Hon. Peter Taptuna: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again I thank the member for that excellent question.
Absolutely, if there are trained personnel within Nunavut, we will surely use them.
Mr. Speaker, it wasn’t too long ago when I complained to the government, before I joined the government, that there weren’t enough bookkeepers in Nunavut. I wanted Arctic College to gather up students to train them in bookkeeping skills and financial accounting.
Once we have an established group of bookkeepers, surely, we will be using that. According to our policies that we have in government, we will surely look into that.
Hopefully, as things roll along within the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation, we will have more and more Inuit in the financial positions, bookkeeping positions, and managerial positions.
That’s exactly what we’re hoping to accomplish.
I don’t have too many questions left, but it’s good to hear the minister’s response as to his department’s plans in this regard.
Although there will be courses at Nunavut Arctic College for financial management, we already have qualified people in Nunavut who are trained in bookkeeping and finances, as well as auditors.
Question 279 – 3(3): Men’s Healing Facility in Rankin Inlet (Elliott)
I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Justice. My questions are regarding the new men’s healing facility in Rankin Inlet.
Mr. Speaker, with $40 million allocated in capital expenditures to the men’s healing facility in Rankin Inlet, with the apparent overcrowding that we have in the Baffin Correctional Centre, and with the anticipation of the passing of Bill C-10, we need the new men’s healing facility in Rankin Inlet to open.
Mr. Speaker, this House was told that the facility was to be opened in September of last year.
Could the minister give us an update as to when the facility will open?
We’re all excited to see the Rankin Inlet healing facility open up.
The latest update is that we will be receiving the turnover of the building at the end of this month. At the end of March, the residence will be completed.
There has been ongoing hiring now. The manager of the facility has been hired. Once that’s all in place, the hiring of the rest of the staff will take place and training of that staff will commence with, hopefully, an opening date later this year.
What specific problems have slowed down the opening of the facility?
From the news articles in the media, it was reported that delays were due to the connection of utilidors and problems around power with connection of transformers.
Are there other factors keeping the building from being opened?
The member has mentioned the problems that were faced in the delay of the facility. There were also minor problems with the residential facility that’s constructed, but all of that is on track right now.
As I have told the member about the timeline, that is the timeline that we’re committed to and we hope that the facility opens up later this year.
In regard to the staffing, I note that the minister did mention a few of the PYs being filled.
When do they anticipate filling all of the PYs and when will the training begin?
Minister responsible for Justice, Minister Shewchuk.
Again I will advise the member that the manager of the facility has been hired. Ongoing hiring will take place very shortly.
I have been informed that all the competitions and all the job descriptions are in place, so everything is ready to go.
As soon as we have turnover of the complete buildings, hiring will begin.
One of the things I will do is probably continue with the lines of questions when we’re in Committee of the Whole when the minister is before us with the Department of Justice.
If the building was supposed to be completed in September, you would have thought that the hiring would have been completed by now and that the training would have already been completed by now.
My final question is I know that the intent was to draw on the skill of local community members and Nunavummiut. What percentage of the people employed at the new facility are from Nunavut?
Hon. Daniel Shewchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again I would like to thank the member for that question.
As far as hiring people when the building was supposed to open at the end of last September, it would have been possible to do.
Where are we going to put the people that we hire when we don’t have a place for them to live?
So I think that expectation is not feasible.
However, as I have stated, we are in the process of having all the job descriptions completed.
Those will be going out very shortly. A manager is in place. Again you have to appreciate the amount of training that needs to take place to train staff to operate and work in this type of facility.
Also in regard to hiring local staff and beneficiary staff, again, we’re going to go through the hiring process and targeting individuals from Nunavut.
However, they will have the need for proper skills and qualifications when we move forward and when we ultimately hire and staff the facility.
Members will note that the allotted time for question period just expired.
Written Question 013 – 3(3): Government of Nunavut Responses to Resolutions Adopted at the 2011 Annual General Meeting of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities (Tapardjuk)
Since I was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, this is my very first written question and that’s why I’m smiling a lot.
Mr. Speaker, my written question is directed to the Premier of Nunavut.
It is in regard to Government of Nunavut responses to resolutions adopted at the 2011 Annual General Meeting of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities.
My question is:
What were the Government of Nunavut’s responses to the resolutions adopted at the 2011 Annual General Meeting of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities?
Congratulations on your first written question, Mr. Tapardjuk.
Tabled Document 154 – 3(3): Report on the Functional Review of Decentralization, August 31, 2011 (Aariak)
I am pleased to table the Report on the Functional Review of Decentralization, August 31, 2011.
Tabled Document 155 – 3(3): Correspondence Regarding Nutrition North Canada Dated February 24, 2012 (Elliott)
I rise to table a letter that I received from the president and executive vice-president of the North West Company.
The letter is in response to the joint letter I tabled earlier this sitting.
Mr. Speaker, in his letter, he states that through the Nutrition North Canada Program, the average price on a basket of healthy products in Nunavut has decreased by 20 percent.
The letter further assures that 100 percent of the Nutrition North Canada subsidy is being passed on to the consumer.
Mr. Speaker, the letter continues to state that, and I quote, the North West Company “fully agrees with your statement that the program needs to be expanded to include more eligible items and access to country foods.”
Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged that we have been able to find some common ground on the issue of the Nutrition North Canada Program, especially with a retailer as influential as the North West Company.
The expansion of the product eligibility list is needed for the success of the program.
Mr. Speaker, I’m sure all of my colleagues will take care in reading these documents.
Tabled Document 156 – 3(3): Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut – 2012 – Procurement of Goods and Services (Speaker)
Members, I wish to table today the 2012 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut on Procurement of Goods and Services.
Bill 21, Bill 24, and Bill 34 with Mr. Ningeongan in the Chair.
>>House recessed at 15:14 and Committee resumed at 15:39
Chairman (Mr. Ningeongan) (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation) I would like to call the committee meeting to order.
In Committee of the Whole, we have the following items to deal with: Bills 21, 24, and 34.
We wish to continue with the review of Bill 24 and the Department of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Chairman, if time permits, we will proceed with the review of the Department of Community and Government Services.
Chairman: Thank you, Mr. Ningark. (interpretation) Do we agree?
According to yesterday’s session, opening comments were made by the minister and the committee co-chair.
At this time, I would like to ask Minister Peterson if he has witnesses that he would like to bring the witness table.
Yes, I would like to bring in some witnesses.
Chairman: Thank you, Minister Peterson. (interpretation) Does the committee agree to bring in the witnesses?
Thank you, Sergeant-at-Arms. (interpretation ends) Minister Peterson, please introduce your witnesses.
To my left is my Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, Peter Ma, and to my right is Debora Voth, Executive Director of Corporate Services for the Department of Health and Social Services.
Chairman: Thank you, Minister Peterson. (interpretation) Welcome, along with your witnesses.
At this time, do any of the members have any general comments to the minister’s opening comments?
Welcome to the Hon. Minister Peterson, as you as your officials, Mr. Ma and Ms. Voth.
In the opening comments, he requested, informing us by telling us, that with the increased revised amount of $6,987,000 in the 2011-12 main estimates.
If I may ask the hon. minister, on page 1 of your opening comments, the fifth bullet, you noted that mental health workers is quoted as $1.65 million.
I wanted to ask: with this amount directed towards mental health workers, how many do you anticipate would become employed, as well as where and when?
We’re under general comments. Please take note of that.
Mr. Chairman, I believe the funding will be for 12 mental health worker grads from the Nunavut Arctic College Mental Health Diploma program.
I would like to ask as well on the first page in regard to the opening comments.