EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Will they consider supporting Pangnirtung, and the community, to make sure that those jobs can be made available to the constituents of Pangnirtung?
The Department of Health and Social Services has a commitment to provide 25 positions to Pangnirtung for Health and Social Services.
On a regular basis, we try to meet those objectives and are currently reviewing again where our shortfalls may be if we transfer the function. For whatever reason, when the operation was decentralized, those positions were not transferred. The commitment from my department and me is to transfer those functions to the regional office so the function can be carried out by the regional department.
So at this point in time, I don’t have plans to move those jobs back to Iqaluit. The decision to transfer those functions out of the hospital were done fairly recently.
I said earlier that with any change, there are some hiccups that we have to sort through and communicate to the health centres like the procedures that need to be followed to ensure that patients traveling know who to contact and so on.
So we are monitoring that and continue to work to address some of those hiccups that are being experienced by constituents and by patients.
To close my line of questioning, will the minister commit to providing this information by way of a letter to make it available to both the hamlet and also the Health Committee under the Municipality of Pangnirtung?
I will commit to communicating this change not only with Pangnirtung because it is a regional operation, I will commit to writing a letter to each mayor in the Baffin region as well as the Health Committee to inform them of the change and the procedures to be followed for patients traveling out of the communities to Iqaluit.
There has been no motion on the floor, so it’s up to you if you want to ask an Oral Question. Mr. Netser.
Question 161 – 2(3): Coral Harbour School Renovation to Include a Daycare Centre (Netser)
I asked the Minister of Education about the Coral Harbour school that is going to be built this summer, and the capital plans stated that there would be a daycare centre built in. Is that going to be the case?
That is correct. There will be daycare space in the school in Coral Harbour.
Mr. Netser: Mr. Speaker, will my community be consulted prior to the construction of the renovation of our school in terms of getting the daycare set up?
There is on-going consultation with the District Education Authority in Coral Harbour, as well as with the staff and administration of the school. That will continue as we get further along into the project.
Question 162 – 2(3): Fuel Tax Rebate (Peterson)
Mr. Speaker, reading through the Fuel Tax Rebate backgrounder from last week, there’s a quote in here that the mining sector argues that the Government of Nunavut’s Fuel Tax places an unfair burden on industry. Funds raised by the Fuel Tax are used to fund construction and maintenance of roads and other infrastructure used by fuel consuming vehicles. That’s the quote.
My question for the minister is: does the Government of Nunavut have a tax regime in place that allows them to track the use of taxes collected specifically from mining companies?
Hon. David Simailak (interpretation): From what I understand we do it on an annual basis.
I’m not sure if the minister is able to answer my question.
Can the minister tell me if a dollar collected from a mining company by the government is tracked through their tax system, and is it used for the construction and maintenance of roads and other infrastructure used by fuel consuming vehicles in Nunavut? Can he categorically state that they know that this is happening? Do they have that information?
Hon. David Simailak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s going to be a part of the problem with regards to the fuel rebate.
We don’t have one for the mining sector and we don’t have any tracking system for the roads; it’s part of the problems identified by the mining sector.
The backgrounder also states that the introduction of the fuel tax rebate will result in approximately $1 million annually in Fuel Tax Rebate for the mining sector.
Typical producing mines, in my experience, could consume 40 million litres or more of fuel per year during mining operations. Doing some basic math, it would seem to me that the rebate could be considerably more.
Can the minister explain to the House how the Government of Nunavut calculates the $1 million annual rebate to the mining sector if a typical producing mine consumes 40 million litres of fuel annually?
For heavy equipment and other uses, we charge 9.1 cents per litre, but for other fields, we charge 3.1 cents per litre.
To date, I’m not exactly sure how it would be applied, but we will direct our staff to look into this further.
At this time, this is what we charge: 9.1 cents for heavy equipment, and for other uses, 3.1 cents.
If we use 40 million litres of fuel and apply the 9.1 cents per litre rebate, it would probably work out to $3 million in rebates. I suggest that the tax department give the taxpayers a break.
My final question, Mr. Speaker: how did the Government of Nunavut calculate a $4 million return in revenues in the form of taxes, including corporate, property, personal and payroll taxes?
As I said earlier, we pay 9.1 cents for vehicles and 3.1 cents for other uses other than vehicles. Vehicles use less.
In regard to the $4 million, that is how it was, for heavy equipment, it is 9.1 per litre and other uses, 3.1 per litre. $4 million is collected, as you quoted from corporate, property, personal, and payroll taxes. Altogether, they come to $4 million.
Question 163 – 2(3): Lack of Bus Services (Kattuk)
In regard to my Member’s Statement, I would like to direct that question to the Minister of Education.
In my riding, the community is concerned about the lack of bus services for the students. The bus we have now is way too small and is over capacity.
At the same time, the community of Sanikiluaq is growing and more houses are being built farther away from the school.
Has your department considered buying another bus for the community of Sanikiluaq?
There is a formula in place that we use when we are purchasing buses for the communities. The first thing that happens is the DEA would put in a request to the Department of Education for a bus. We look at the information, as well as the financial information and some of the administrative detail, to see if the request falls within the guidelines of the purchase of a school bus.
Mr. Speaker, in the case of Sanikiluaq, I am very aware of the situation with the bus. When we were there just recently this past fall, we actually had an opportunity to take the bus and there were some issues with it.
I have not seen a formal request from the DEA of Sanikiluaq for a new bus.
I think I understand your response. You said that you have not received a formal request from the DEA. What kind of guidelines do you use to determine if a community is eligible to receive a bus?
We’re looking at two kinds of formulas; one is a regular school bus and the other one is the inclusive school bus.
The inclusive school bus is for special needs students that we would have in a given community. A regular school bus would be for the rest of the kids, either K to 9 or K to 12.
There are several factors which are contingent on a community being eligible for a bus. It includes the distance away from school that the residents would live; it includes the number of school-aged children at a certain age. For example, if you have a lot of children in K, 1, 2, and 3, as an example.
And it also looks at what has been the practice in the past.
So for example, in Sanikiluaq’s case where they’ve had a school bus and there are some issues with getting a new school bus, that would be factored into a given request.
From what I understand, the bus in Sanikiluaq is used from kindergarten to grade six.
This bus is used solely for those grade levels and the higher ones cannot even get on the bus because it’s over capacity.
Why is it that this bus cannot be used for all students?
Mr. Speaker, this bus is way too small and why is it that it can’t be used by all grades; by all students?
If I remember correctly, the bus in Sanikiluaq is about 15 years old.
As I indicated earlier, I have been on that school bus with the member and some of the ministers. I agree with the member that the bus needs to be replaced.
I believe the district education authority wrote to the member in January about the need for a school bus.
Now that the member has raised it in the House, what we can do is look at it through the capital planning process that is in place.
We have already approved our capital budget already for new school busses to be delivered to communities. And, we’ve had several requests for school busses.
What I’m prepared to do is look within the budget that we have for the Department of Education to see if there is any flexibility within the current budget structure, if we can meet the request of the community.
I would agree with the member that there is a need for a new bus in Sanikiluaq and that’s something that we would look at.
Again, Mr. Speaker, the capital budget has already been debated through the House, so we would have to see if there is some slippage within the budget to be able to accommodate the member’s wishes.
So I would take the request seriously and see what we can do to facilitate that.
I would like to thank the minister for his response, but one question you didn’t respond to is: why is it that this bus cannot be used by all students, not just from kindergarten to grade six?
Why is it that all students cannot use this bus?
Again, as I stated earlier, there may be some age consistence issues here with the usage of the bus, and it may be an issue of capacity.
For example, Mr. Speaker, if the bus has a certain capacity, if they can only have 30 students on the bus, for example, then I would say, and suggest to you that it would be better to have the K to 4, K to 5 children on the bus, not the older teenagers in grade 11, grade 12, for example, if that is the case.
At the same time, Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the bus is old. I believe it’s about 15 years old and was purchased when the school population was a lot less in the community.
So there is a need for a new bus in Sanikiluaq.
How many kids are allowed on the bus?
All busses have to be licensed and there are a set number of people who are allowed on the bus.
And that may be one of the issues for how many people and maybe one of the reasons why there is some discussion around how many people are allowed to be on the bus at any given time.
Question 164 – 2(3): Update on Issuing Passports to Arctic Winter Games Participants (Barnabas)
After my statement, I’m referring my question to the Minister responsible for Sport Nunavut.
We are only days away from opening the Arctic Winter Games in Alaska. There is still some confusion in the communities about what forms of official identification will be required for Nunavut’s participants in the games to travel to the U.S.
To my understanding, the Yukon has raised the passport issue for participants with the Arctic Winter Games.
Can the minister update us today on this issue?
Speaker (interpretation): Minister responsible for Sport Nunavut, Mr. Tapardjuk.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): I apologize, Mr. Speaker, I did not hear the question.
Somebody was talking to me. So could he ask the question again? I’m sorry.
Speaker (interpretation): Mr. Barnabas, please ask your question again.
Mr. Barnabas (interpretation): My question was to the Minister responsible for Sport Nunavut.
We are a few days away from the opening of the Arctic Winter Games in Alaska, but to date, there is still some confusion on identification cards to be used by the athletes.
The Nunavut athletes will be going to Kenai Alaska, and I know for sure that the Yukon athletes will require as much identification cards and passports as much as our athletes.
Could the minister update me on this issue?
To date, the Canadians that are traveling to the United States still do not necessarily require passports.
I think implementation of that procedure is going to start next year.
For the athletes going to Alaska, it would be ideal for them to have passports, but the athletes have been informed that their birth certificate is required and photo identification is also required.
And anyone who is under the age of 18, there is a consent form needed from the parent or guardian.
To date, they say that it’s good to have a passport to go to the games, but if you cannot acquire a passport, that as long as you have your birth certificate and photo ID to go over to the Arctic Winter Games, it should be fine; they will be able to get into the country.
Question 165 – 2(3): Boarding Home Expansion (Arreak)
At this time, I would like to direct my question to the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
My question is in regard to the transportation office. I believe that the boarding home will be filled to capacity, and also with the new hospital about to open here in Iqaluit, can the minister tell us that she will be expanding the boarding home for patients here as well?
The department is conducting a review of all boarding homes that we use; one in Edmonton, one in Yellowknife, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and that also includes the Iqaluit Boarding Home.
As well, we are working towards establishing the one in Cambridge Bay, and eventually, to also have one in Rankin Inlet.
Since the department is reviewing the boarding homes, my next question is in regard to the boarding home in Iqaluit. What will you be doing with the boarding home?
When are you going to be completing the review of the boarding homes, and once you finish the review, when will you start expanding the boarding homes?
I appreciate the member’s concern related to the Iqaluit Boarding Home, but having said that, the direction the department is undertaking is much broader than just Iqaluit.
We have a new hospital that we are establishing here, hospital centres in Cambridge Bay, as well as in Rankin Inlet.
So it’s part of that overall plan; we are reviewing it.
In the past, I have stated that the daily rates are negotiated through Health Canada.
So part of the whole review process is also to include discussions with Health Canada if there are to be a change in rates on how we operate on a daily basis, so that’s part of that picture.
As well, Health Canada has asked us to provide a comprehensive presentation on all of the facilities we operate and set up by facility, so that whole process is being reviewed, and collectively, that information will be shared with Health Canada, who is the funding source for boarding homes in Nunavut.
When will you finish the review?
I would say sometime within this year.
Question 166 – 2(3): Senior Fuel Subsidy Program (Netser)
The elders who own their own homes are given a fuel subsidy by the government as long as this fuel’s invoice is sent.
Once they get the rebate, they go cash it at the store.
The cheque cashing fee is increasing and these senior citizens are going through a difficult time as it is.
I think that our Minister for the Department of Education is responsible for that.
I would like to ask the minister for an update on this issue.
The Senior Fuel Subsidy Program is a good program under the Government of Nunavut and it helps subsidize the cost of home heating fuel for our elders who own their own homes.
Mr. Speaker, when that rebate cheque comes out, it’s up to the individual elders of how they cash that cheque.
So for example, Mr. Speaker, if they are in Iqaluit, or in Rankin Inlet, or in Cambridge Bay, they can actually bring it to a bank and deposit it into their accounts, then there wouldn’t be a fee.
If they bring it to a private business, Mr. Speaker, then it’s up to the private business to have a set amount for a cheque-cashing fee.
That’s outside the scope of the GN to suggest what that amount should be.
Now, I would suggest to you, Mr. Speaker, that that amount would have to be fair and equitable to the customer base. We do know in the last several weeks and months that there have been some concerns in the media, for example, about the cheque cashing fee policy of some of the businesses operating in Nunavut.
We all know about the policies that these businesses have.
However, I want to ask the minister if he could consider having his department going straight to the fuel contractor during the cold winter months. This is so our elders are not left with the burden of having to get their cheques cashed at a reduced amount. I would also like to have his department go to the fuel contractor to fill up their bill on a regular basis.
I believe in the current year, there are about 45 individuals, elders who own their own home, who have uptake on the Fuel Subsidy Program.
Mr. Speaker, we’re looking at ways to expedite that program, but also making it easier for our clientele.
As an example, Mr. Curley raised a question in the House last week on the forms in Inuktitut. We are now able to actually go back to that form, and to clarify it, and make it simpler because of issues that arose in the House.
So I would accept what the member is saying and see how we can endeavour to work with our elders and the local contractors at the community level to see how we could facilitate a more expeditious way of dealing with the Subsidy Program.
I heard the minister say that there are only 45 elders in Nunavut that have their own homes.
It’s quite simple Mr. Speaker, to have his department officials go to the fuel contractor and say, “This man or this couple need fuel for their homes; we want you to fill them up on a timely basis.” It seems to be quite simple; I wonder what the problems are.
The member maybe just misheard me.
What I said was the program in Nunavut is a program where a person has an opportunity to apply for a rebate. Right now, when we look at the number of people up-taking on the program; that means that elders or seniors who own their own home, they’re eligible for a rebate on their fuel purchases.
It wouldn’t be for the government to go in and pay for the cost of the fuel for the person or the individuals themselves, or call the contractor and have the house filled up.
In every instance I’m aware of Mr. Speaker, each of the individual home owners have a contract with the local supplier of home heating fuel, and those people come in on a regular basis and deliver their fuel.
As I said earlier, we are trying to look at ways of making the program easier and user friendly.
Question 167 – 2(3): Consideration of Conditions for the Fuel Stabilization Rider (Curley)
I also have a question for the Minister of Energy.
I thank the minister for clarifying his responses on the issues with respect to the Elders’ Energy Subsidy Program.
Last week, I believe the Nunavut Power Corporation filed a request with the minister to maintain the current price level of the fuel stabilization rider. I would urge the minister not to blankly approve the request unless the certain areas have been approved, for instance, this elders’ energy subsidy.
I would urge the minister that he does not maintain the current fuel stabilization rider approved last year due to the fact that the cost of living has increased tremendously; the energy has probably gone up.
At the same time, those eligible for his department’s Energy Subsidy Program threshold for $39,000 has not been amended. And these others don’t qualify for northern allowance like we do.
So I’m asking the minister not to accept the fuel rider proposal, but that he put a condition into it. Could he do that for our elders in Nunavut?
The stabilization rate rider that the member speaks about is 3.98 cents, and the Power Corporation has come forward and suggested to me, as minister, based on the cost contingencies that are in place, and we have increased, as the members know, the cost of fuel by about 9.6 cents this September 1.
We put the 3.98 cents in place and they are asking for another six months. The idea is to bring the fuel stabilization rider to plus or minus $1 million, and that’s what we’re going to be doing.
At the same time, Mr. Speaker, the kilowatt rate, almost 95 percent of our seniors and our elders live in social housing in Nunavut, that rate is at 6 cents a kilowatt hour and hasn’t changed for several years.
Indeed, Mr. Speaker, again, in the majority of these cases, the elderly people would be on a form of income support and so on, and in those cases, wouldn’t be paying the full amount of the bill.
So Mr. Speaker, the 3.98 cents needs to be put on the bill across the board so that we don’t have to go back in and subsidize the Power Corporation.
I understand fully that the estimates might be close to what the Nunavut Power Corporation had projected last year.
At the same time, the cost of living has continued to increase, the Elders’ Benefit Program and the social safety that they rely upon are not really enough these days; not enough for them to maintain the family income in their communities. They do participate in paying for energy, whether or not it is subsidized by the public housing.
They do pay and contribute to that, and I’m asking the minister: will he stand up for our elders and actually revamp the whole Elders’ Energy Subsidy Program?
As it is, the threshold, the cap that the government has instituted by the previous other governments has not been changed.
It is time now to change it before he approves this fuel stabilization rider.
Will the minister commit to standing up for elders in Nunavut?
There is a combination of programs in place to help our elders.
One of them is the Senior Fuel Subsidy Rebate Program for all the elders who own their own homes, and as I said earlier, there are about 45 households across Nunavut that meets that requirement.
We also have, Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, increased the subsidy to 1,000 kilowatt hours for all households under the Energy Program across Nunavut.
At the same time, Mr. Speaker, there is also the energy rebate from the federal government. There are about 1,500 families across Nunavut who would qualify for the National Child Benefit, but also because of that, there would be 585 seniors under the Guaranteed Income Support Program in Nunavut who would be getting that money also.
So, Mr. Speaker, that’s 250 plus couples, spouses, and single seniors who would be eligible for that program; that’s the Energy Cost Rebate Program that will be coming out from the federal government, and that’s already been announced.
So there are quite a few programs in place.
At the same time, I agree with the member that we need to be able to review the amounts that are allowed and eligible under the Energy Cost Program, and to help step up to the plate, as it were, for our elders.
Again, Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, almost 90 percent of our residents, who are elders who are in social housing; those costs are already covered through the Income Support Program by the Government of Nunavut.
At the same time, the rate of 6 cents per kilowatt hour has not changed for several years, was not increased in the last year, and where there were difficulties or issues the elders have to meet that electrical cost, then the Income Support Program is there to meet that need for them.
So for example, Mr. Speaker, if there was an issue where an elder went in and wasn’t paying their bill, in this case, the Income Support Program will be able to step up to the plate as the member has said.
I would like to thank the minister for the response of the government’s position.
I asked him to stand up for the elders of Nunavut.
Many of the programs that he announced have not been changed for a number of years, as he indicated.
And the cost of living and the social safety net are pretty well outdated to reflect the true cost of living today.
And asking the minister: why does he feel he doesn’t have to change all of these outdated elders’ benefit programs in order to make them reflective with all true costs of living on our elders and the hardship that they are facing?
Will you honestly commit yourself that you will improve all of these outdated programs that you uphold so hard for the department. Our elders are asking for your help.