EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
The response I just heard from the minister relates to people already in the present court system that are experiencing mental health issues and that there are programs available for them.
Mr. Speaker, what I was trying to question was this: a person who is not in prison but who knows they’re going to court at a certain date starts feeling frustration and anger, especially men.
The reason that I want to understand and why I raised the question was that when people are on the court docket, they start suffering mental stress and problems.
Are there any programs or services available from the Department of Health and Social Services to provide counselling and whether it would be through the churches? Is the Department of Justice pretty well throwing the people who are supposed to go to court out to the wolves?
The way it stands now, it seems like they’re just left to deal with their own issues by themselves.
Again a very serious issue and I do understand the member’s concern.
Mr. Speaker, I think that somebody who needs help, mental help, or needs help in other ways needs to identify that to somebody, to family members, to people.
There is help through Health and Social Services, social workers, and community justice outreach workers who can assist people in need of those services.
However, that individual or family member of that individual needs to identify that need.
Question 336 – 3(3): Status of New Conservation Officer for Coral Harbour (Ningeongan)
In April of this year, the conservation officer who was assigned to Coral Harbour departed from his position.
As the minister is aware, conservation officers play a very important role in our communities and it is important that these positions not remain vacant for extended periods of time.
Can the minister update me today on the status of his department’s efforts to hire a new conservation officer for the community?
I thank Mr. Ningeongan for raising that question.
Mr. Speaker, at this time, the advertisement for the position of a conservation officer in Coral Harbour is not out yet as we have a shortage of conservation officers in the community.
It will be going out soon.
We were looking for staff housing and we asked the local housing authority if housing can be provided in that community before we put the advertisement out.
Just like in any other community, there is a shortage of housing in Coral Harbour.
So at this time, the reason the ad is not out yet is also because of lack of housing.
We have yet to decide whether we’re going to advertise it without housing provided or if we should wait until we get housing.
As I said earlier, we no longer have a conservation officer and this position has been vacant for quite a while. This means that most harvesters who want to sell their sealskins have to wait a long time. Can the minister indicate how his department will be providing services to the community of Coral Harbour until such time as a new conservation officer is hired?
Yes, we have considered those scenarios, especially in communities that have not had a conservation officer for a while. Officers serving in other communities are asked to visit these communities for a period of time to provide these services and this is how we are dealing with this issue.
We can task other officers to make a trip to Coral Harbour to undertake these duties as required. This also happens in other communities in the same type of circumstance.
Alternatively, when a position has been vacant for too long or if the community requires these services, we can also hire temporary employees in the communities. That is another option.
Mr. Ningeongan (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the minister for that response.
Can the minister update the House on the status of his department’s Conservation Officer Trainee Program?
At this time, I cannot provide the exact number of students taking that course.
I see that someone just gestured to me, but with respect to students taking the conservation officer courses, the officials at Nunavut Arctic College can provide that information as that is under their purview.
I cannot provide the actual numbers at this time.
Perhaps I have that information now.
I just got this. There are three students currently taking this course. One conservation officer who graduated from the program was just hired.
At this time, we have three students taking this particular course.
It’s good to see cooperation in the government.
Perhaps I should be raising my question to the Minister of Justice.
Mr. Speaker, I would like some clarification. Can the Minister of Environment elaborate on whether or not there will be a temporary hire? Since his department is among the departments that hire summer students, does he agree that this can occur in Coral Harbour with the vacancy in that position?
The Minister of Human Resources is too far away, so I cannot get that information readily.
I cannot answer that at this time as I do not have the information.
Mr. Speaker, these types of programs are handled by the local offices, and the programs offered by the government will be available if there is funding to operate the programs.
If the position is able to be filled, it would most likely occur, but if there is no employee to administer this program, then it will not proceed in his community or in others in the same situation.
Question 337 – 3(3): Replacement of Taloyoak Air Terminal Building (Ugyuk)
My questions are for the Minister of Economic Development and Transportation, Mr. Taptuna.
(interpretation ends) As the minister will recall, I asked questions in June of last year concerning the urgent need for a new air terminal building in Taloyoak.
At that time, he indicated that the project is a priority for his department and that it “will be initiated as soon as the funding is available.”
Last fall, the Legislative Assembly approved $50,000 in capital funding towards this project during the current 2012-13 fiscal year.
Can the minister update me today on how his department plans to spend this funding?
I thank the Member for Nattilik for that very important question.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, we have been working on planning and designing.
We do have a planning and design budget for the ATB which will be undertaken in the next fiscal year.
I will not quote the amount at this time, but as you know, Mr. Speaker, we have been having some issues with the lighting of the Taloyoak Airport’s airstrip. We have also been taking precautions to make sure that these airstrip lights are in working order.
I had asked this question: (interpretation ends) can the minister update me today on how his department plans to spend this funding?
(interpretation) I don’t believe I got an appropriate answer. So therefore, I would like to ask the minister again. Yes, the airstrip lights are really bright now in Taloyoak because the airstrip lights have been on continually.
However, how is his department planning on spending the funding?
Mr. Speaker, the initial funding is for the planning and design of the air terminal building and that’s ongoing at this time.
My question is: (interpretation ends) can the minister confirm that this project is at the top of his department’s priority list for new ATBs in Nunavut?
As you know, in Nunavut, we do have a major infrastructure deficit.
In most communities, there’s a real need for any type of infrastructure related to transportation, airports and ATBs being some of them.
We do have many priorities and Taloyoak’s ATB is one of them.
I thank the minister for the responses. (interpretation ends) Can the minister confirm that his department’s 2013-14 capital estimates will include funding for the construction of a new air terminal building in Taloyoak?
I think that’s one of the Hamlet of Taloyoak’s biggest questions.
As you know, this government, including my department, has very limited access to infrastructure funds.
There are many priorities, as I indicated, and very few resources to complete some of the major priorities that we’re hoping to accomplish throughout Nunavut when it comes to infrastructure, marine facilities, airport infrastructure, and other things.
Mr. Speaker, I will commit to working on this issue once the planning and design for that is done. I will commit to working on getting the construction funds needed for Taloyoak’s new ATB.
Question 338 – 3(3): Dust Control of Community Roads (Oshutapik)
I would like to wish a good afternoon to my fellow community residents.
At this time, my question revolves around an annual problem season. I imagine it is for all of Nunavut, but in our community, we’re now starting to experience the road dust hazard.
I can never get used to the dust and if you meet anybody from Pangnirtung, they will probably ask the same questions that I have.
I just want to remind you that dust can exasperate any existing respiratory problems.
At the end of April this year, following the early melting of the snow, the roads started to pose dust hazards.
If the minister could provide a response, what has his department done to date to try to implement dust control methods that can be used in the communities for dust suppression and doing further road maintenance?
What is the status of the plan that he alluded to in the past? Can he provide some details on how our community can best deal with the dust hazard through the dust suppression program?
I don’t think the dust issue will disappear any time soon among the communities. As communities increase their capacity and as residents become able to buy more equipment, such as four-wheeled ATVs and vehicles, I don’t think they will be able to keep up with the maintenance required.
That’s the reason why we’re still looking for dust suppressants and other methods.
To date, as per my previous statement last year related to dust suppression, I can only say the same thing.
Hamlets are provided funding for this particular service. Once they receive this funding, they purchase salting equipment. I believe they looked for the best dust suppression methods the year before and they were identified to every hamlet.
Last year, there was a training course on applying this dust suppressant to ensure that it stayed on the roads.
If the hamlets have road maintainers who took that course, then they would start applying these dust suppressants in the upcoming summer months.
It’s not a problem that’s new to the department. At the current time, the dust suppressant application, in my opinion, just seems to be a money-wasting venture.
Although you said there’s funding allocated specifically for dust suppressant to the hamlets, if this problem keeps recurring every year, it’s just going to continue to eat away at our funding.
However, what I’m trying to raise with my question is that if we put asphalt on all the roads, it would remediate the dust problem once and for all.
Iqaluit is a very good example. Once they paved the roads, it really suppressed the dust problem. Now, in Iqaluit, there is hardly ever any dusty days.
What I’m trying to prod the minister about is let’s look at a more permanent solution rather than dealing with a recurring dust problem. So my question is: has his department considered this?
We have to keep looking for better solutions.
I continually hear from the members about the best method, but if we were to pave all hamlets, we would have to set aside large amounts of funding. Paving is not a simple matter. You need to have the correct type of gravel and the proper drainage because the underlying ground can wash away.
Iqaluit is a good example.
We have less dust problems, but now, when you’re driving on the paved road, the problem is potholes. Over the past two or three years, that has already started to affect the paved road.
Although it may look very easy to apply on the surface, you have to wait two or three years before you can actually start seeing other problems that result from paving the road.
The idea is very good, but paving every road in Nunavut would be an exorbitant cost and that’s what is holding us back.
So prior to making the decision about paving every road, we have to look at all alternative methods for suppressing dust.
There aren’t perfect solutions and we have tried to use the best methods to suppress dust.
We’re still looking for better ways in the communities.
Perhaps we may find something better that can help suppress dust.
I believe, to say it in English, everybody is still looking for a “better mousetrap,” but no one has succeeded.
We will continue to look for better solutions.
Mr. Oshutapik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also thank the minister for that response.
This is something we experience every year. Because it has such a very real impact, we have to look at alternative methods or even better solutions.
Even in winter, we hardly get any snow covering the ground due to high winds.
That’s why I brought up the fact that at the end of April, we start to experience dust hazards.
The salt is not just salt; it is calcium chloride and contains other substances.
So when it dries, the dust suppressant itself is included in the dust and may contribute to respiratory problems if it’s inhaled.
We know that money is the limiting factor here, but we have to also balance that with our lives because you cannot put monetary value on life.
Although their cost may be exorbitant, we have to look at more permanent solutions, especially where it can alleviate our constituents’ respiratory systems.
I’m wondering if the minister has identified a number of communities that experience dust hazards more frequently than other communities and whether or not he has the number of pilot projects that he could provide to the House. Has he looked into this issue?
Minister of Community Government Services, Minister Kusugak.
With respect to calcium chloride and whether it could affect people’s health, I believe that is understandable. I’m not trying to get into every little detail and I believe the purpose is already noted. At this time, I don’t have any information on whether calcium chloride presents a health hazard.
What I can say is that the product we’re currently using, which is sent to practically every community, is considered the best dust suppressant outside Nunavut.
Even in the south, not every road is paved.
Where they have gravel roads, different solutions to dealing with dust have been looked at and that’s what we’re trying to use.
What they have found is a result of many experiments in trying to deal with dust problems.
It does assist the communities to resolve the dust problem and it does keep down the dust a lot.
We will continue to provide training courses, especially to people who apply dust suppressants on community roads, and to try to further the application of this product to keep dust at a minimum.
I know people have respiratory problems as I, too, have experienced that. I know it’s especially the case for elders and children.
So with that being the case and based on your statements, we will continue to look for better dust control products.
Even if it’s not better, at least we will look for ways of applying this product better on the roads so that it does control the dust.
I also like to thank the minister for that.
We will expect that there will be more research to look at better dust control solutions.
Now, my question is with respect to the hamlets. Have you provided a list of options of products that communities can obtain?
Perhaps you have a list of products that have been used and provide a recommendation as to the best product.
Is this currently the practice?
Since it’s generally windy in our community, it takes the product off the road very quickly and, with the sun and the wind, the product dries out quite quickly.
If this is the best product that’s available, then we will try to use it, but that’s what I’m trying to ask.
What I would like to ask the minister is this: this product that can be used by other communities, do you believe in the effectiveness of this product, that if it can be applied in one community, without looking at the environmental factors, it would also be good for another community?
It doesn’t work in our community, but maybe it will work in another community.
Has the department looked into that, Mr. Minister?
Yes, last year or the year before, I did provide this information.
We also conducted a study on which product is the best dust suppressant and how we could provide this to all Nunavummiut.
There was research undertaken on this issue and the recommendation was that this product was the best, that this product was second, and that product was third.
When they identified their effectiveness in this community, they didn’t include any environmental factors.
I understand your comments about windy spots because I live in a windy spot in Rankin Inlet.
So we looked at a product that could be applied in every community throughout Nunavut. That is the situation where we find ourselves.
We have the best product currently available, but we will continue to look for new products and methods to suppress dust because everyone is always looking for a better solution to this problem.
It’s quite obvious that communities outside of Nunavut also experience dust control issues. As I stated earlier, not every road is paved, even in the south.
So there are a lot of people looking for better methods and we will join those initiatives in looking for better dust control.
We will also collaborate with local hamlets as we strive to control the dust in our communities.
Question 339 – 3(3): Airport Security (Enook)
Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up today on the issue of security at Pond Inlet’s airport.
As the minister will recall from our winter sitting, I drew his attention to concerns regarding vandalism of aircraft.
Since that time, it is my understanding that his department has taken actions to address this situation.
Could the minister update the House today on the status of this issue?
Hon. Peter Taptuna: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the hon. member from Tununiq for that question.
Tampering with aircraft while they’re parked overnight in some of these smaller communities, such as Pond Inlet, we take these issues very seriously where there’s damage done to aircraft, vandalized, and theft.
Mr. Speaker, we’re putting an alarm system in some of these Nunavut airports where aircraft are parked overnight.
Of course, Mr. Speaker, as a department for Nunavut airports, we’re footing the bills at this time and we’re constantly talking and trying to improve the situations and concerns that these communities have. We’re meeting and talking with the mayors and hamlet councils at this time.
My question, Mr. Speaker, to the minister was: can you update as to exactly what has taken place since I raised the issue during the winter sitting in regard to securing the airport and aircraft that overnight in Pond Inlet?
Again I thank you for the clarification.
Mr. Speaker, we have put in place a security guard in a couple of locations, for which the department is paying the bill.
At this time, we’re putting in security cameras and security alarms in communities, such as Pond Inlet, Igloolik, and Cape Dorset.
At this time, there are ongoing discussions with the hamlets on how better to address the situation because for the most part, it’s a very serious situation that we have to work together in addressing, not just as a department but with the communities.
When I initially raised this issue in February, the minister indicated that his department “will be installing camera security systems in more airports in the upcoming fiscal year.”
I am sure that many of my colleagues in the House today will appreciate the minister’s actions.
Can the minister update the House today on which airports in Nunavut will be receiving security upgrades over the coming year?
I thank the Member for Tununiq for that excellent question.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, Cape Dorset, Pond Inlet, and Igloolik, that’s all within the Baffin region, there is more work to be done, but at this time, these are the three communities that were identified where airline carriers have selected for overnight parking.
So we’re concentrating on these three specific communities at this time in the Baffin region.
Question 340 – 3(3): Food Security (Elliott)
As I noted in my Member’s Statement, the minister’s department ensured that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food had the opportunity to hear our government’s concerns on the occasion of his recent visit to Canada.
I applaud the minister for his commitment to this issue.
News reports have indicated that the UN Rapporteur received a presentation from his department titled “Achieving Sustainable Food Security in Nunavut.”
Will the minister commit to tabling a copy of this important presentation in the House during the current spring sitting?
Mr. Speaker, yes, I can commit to that.
Mr. Elliott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, minister, for that commitment.
As I also noted in my Member’s Statement, the GN is working with a number of partners to establish the Nunavut Food Security Coalition.
I applaud the government for recognizing that the concept of security for our communities and constituents must take into account human needs, and not simply military procurement.
Can the minister indicate what role his department is playing in this coalition?
The Department of Health and Social Services’ role in the coalition is to provide policy, advice, expertise, and leadership to the folks who are working on it, primarily the Poverty Reduction Group.
So we’re involved that way.
Can the minister indicate what resources the government is investing into the issue of food security during the current fiscal year?
The Government of Nunavut, through Vote 4 funding, will be investing approximately $483,000.
The issue of food security cannot be addressed by the GN alone, and I am very glad that the minister’s department works very closely with the federal Department of Health on a number of issues, even as recently as May 23. It would appear that our MP, in a National Post issue, had resented being told how to fix things by an outsider who has no first-hand knowledge of the north.
I would like to know what our federal Minister of Health and federal MP is doing with her first-hand knowledge to help us in the north.
So my specific question to the minister is: can the minister indicate what resources and commitments have been made by the federal Department of Health to help us address food security in Nunavut?
This whole UN Special Rapporteur visit to Canada has raised very important issues, not just in Nunavut but across the north and across Canada.
Food security is a top priority for the Government of Nunavut.
I recall, when I was a mayor of Cambridge Bay, one of the first items we raised was food security. It wasn’t a buzzword at the time, but it became a buzzword over the years.
We raised food security in the community and established a food bank.
That was 10 to 12 years ago. Then when I became an MLA, of course, obviously similar to Mr. Elliott, I was very concerned about the food shortages and high prices in Nunavut.
I did a lot of research across Canada, with the support of some of my colleagues, and identified that half of the folks in Nunavut were living under the poverty line, the national poverty line, never mind in Nunavut.
We know the cost of living in Nunavut is very [high].
In Cambridge Bay, I went on the research trail there and I found that the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs had done some research on food prices in Cambridge Bay.
They identified that the cost for a food basket in Cambridge Bay was two to three times the cost in Edmonton. That was five or six years ago.
Mr. Speaker, near the end of the term of the First Assembly, we all talked about what Nunavut is doing to help people who have food security issues. We talked about starting a poverty reduction strategy. I am very proud to say that in this Assembly, in the term of this government, we have made that commitment.
We are working on it. Although it’s not happening overnight, it is happening. We’ve had all the round table discussions and debates.
When the UN Special Rapporteur visited Canada, I thought it was great because he raised awareness and helped focus some attention on Nunavut, which can only help us.