EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
As it relates to providing support to individuals who require counselling, and so on, the Department of Health does provide counselling services through mental health, and so on, at the community level as well.
So those are the types of services that we currently provide as a department for individuals requiring assistance in counselling and so on.
I can speak to some of that, but by community, for what the member is asking for, I would have to get a copy of the report from the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs who is taking the lead on this file.
Members, I would like to remind you that in regard to minister’s portfolios, sometimes they are not in the position to answer a particular question. Please be mindful of that.
Question 557 – 2(4): Mining-Related Training Initiatives (Simailak)
(interpretation ends) In my Member’s Statement today, Mr. Speaker, I spoke about the continued need for innovative approaches to mine-related training for residents of Baker Lake and indeed the Kivalliq.
In March of this year, the minister announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Nunavut Arctic College and a number of organizations in the Kitikmeot to develop mine-related training partnerships. And that was indeed a very important announcement.
Can the minister update the House today on the status of his initiatives for the Kivalliq in the area of mine-related training?
Minister of Education and Minister responsible for the Nunavut Arctic College, Minister Picco.
We’re quite excited with the many opportunities that the mining industry is presenting right now and in the future for Nunavut residents.
The member is correct when he stated that the opportunity to earn that pay cheque is very important to us and it brings some real opportunity.
What I can say and very quickly, we’re moving on several different fronts within the Department of Education with regards to mine training specifically.
As the members know, we should be in the position in about a year to a year and a half to open up a new mine trade school which will specifically be looking at different types of mine trades.
We have been graduating record numbers of people out of Morrisburg, Ontario, completing the Heavy Equipment Operators Training Program, and indeed, of the graduates, I think there are over 80 percent of them, as soon as they graduate, are moving forward into employment.
And that means they’re graduating, Mr. Speaker, with their red seals. They can go anywhere in Canada, inter-provincially, so that’s great. The need for heavy equipment operators is huge.
We’re moving forward right now with our plan to begin the Millwright Program, which is a direct mine training program that will be based in Cambridge Bay but it will be open to residents from across Nunavut. We hope to have that in place in the next 12 to 14 months.
Again, Mr. Speaker, under the Labour Market Development Agreement with Canada, we have put extra money into mine training specifically.
When we talk about mine training, we’re not just talking about picks and shovels; we’re talking all types of areas because our mine sites need all types of skilled trades, whether that’s carpentry, plumbing, electricity, administrative people, heavy equipment operators, and so on.
So hopefully that helps provide the member with some information on where we are right now on training specifically throughout Nunavut.
Mr. Simailak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister. (interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, the 2008-09 Business Plan of the Department of Economic Development and Transportation indicates that it will, and I quote, “support the Department of Education in the development of a mine training facility in Nunavut.”
Can the minister update the House today on the status of this project and confirm for the record its location?
I appreciate the opportunity to clarify.
When we say mine training facility, we mean mine training facilities, plural, with the “s” at the end because when we’re looking at mine training, as I said earlier, it’s not specific just to mine training. We’re looking at all construction trades, for example, administrative positions, and so on.
The trade school will be in Rankin Inlet and that will a conduit for all of Nunavut. At the same time, we have included monies in the budget, and we have talked it earlier when Mr. Peterson mentioned it, where we have actually put extra dollars in Cambridge Bay.
We’re looking at the opportunity of providing infrastructure in Cambridge Bay to be able to develop and to deliver the Millwright Program and that is a specific mine training program. In the Baffin region, through the auspices of Nunavut Arctic College, we have been working on a carpentry shop where we are able to do some of the skilled construction trades.
So when we’re talking about mine training and mine training facilities, we’re actually talking about the three facilities under the umbrella of Nunavut Arctic College.
I know it’s quite exciting and I think we’re actually about three months ahead of where we had planned to be, so we’re trying to be as aggressive as possible.
All Nunavummiut eagerly look forward to the opening of Nunavut’s new trade school. However, if we can find ways to deliver training to our residents now, we should do so.
Can the minister indicate to me what discussions his department, Nunavut Arctic College, and Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited have had with respect to training for residents of Baker Lake?
As I indicated, we have trained over 175 heavy equipment operators alone in the last couple of years who are actually out there working and Inuit who have graduated have national certification, so I think we have been pretty aggressive.
We have just introduced in the capital budget the opportunity of moving forward with the new community learning centre in Pond Inlet specifically to deal with the training needs out of the Mary River mine. That’s moving forward.
Specifically in Baker Lake, many of the residents of Baker Lake actually have been graduates and some of the strongest graduates that we’ve had have come out of Baker Lake, out of Morrisburg, for example, to work in the affiliated work with the mining groups.
Through the Nunavut Arctic College, Mr. Speaker, we’ve had good discussions with the Agnico-Eagle Mining Company. We’re looking at opportunities for advanced training within the framework with Mr. Ittinuar, who has been working in the region there aggressively.
The people of Baker Lake that want to take further training, rather than just heavy equipment operating, in other areas related to mining are getting quite impatient.
They know that the minister has been sitting on an invitation from the hamlet since last December to come and meet with them about mine training.
He made a commitment to me in March that he would be in Baker Lake as soon as the session was over.
The people of Baker Lake and I are still waiting for him to come into Baker Lake to meet with the hamlet council, the DEA, and other organizations in Baker Lake that are getting very anxious.
Can the minister give me a firm date some time before the end of this week as to when he would be able to come to Baker Lake for those very worthwhile meetings?
Indeed, I look forward to going into Baker Lake and I have been to Baker Lake many times and I have attended graduations there as the Minister of Education, and so on, so I do look forward to going there.
I have not been able to logistically work it out. As the members know, I was in Kugluktuk last week, I was in Cambridge Bay and Rankin Inlet the week before, I have been trying to get out to as many graduations as I can and I haven’t been able to logistically work out that trip specifically.
Right now, we’re tied up here in the House until about June 6 and I’m booked right up until June 9.
So I would be able to communicate with the member and I would hope that, some time after June 9, to be able to go to Baker Lake and meet with the hamlet on specific training needs.
I did have an opportunity, as the member knows, to meet with several of the mining companies, including the mining companies involved in Baker Lake, here in Iqaluit during the Mining Symposium just a few weeks ago and we did have some very good discussions on training and training opportunities, and I think we have some good news to bring forward to not only Baker Lake but the mining industry.
We’re open for business.
If they have specific training needs, then we will try to meet them. If I can’t deliver the program here in Nunavut, Mr. Speaker, then we will buy those seats in another jurisdiction where we need them and we have done that with Morrisburg.
Question 558 – 2(4): Report of the Auditor General on the Nunavut Housing Corporation (Curley)
My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s Statement yesterday, I expressed concerns with the observations in the Auditor General’s Report on the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
In her report, she stated, and I quote, “We noted that the Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Trust Delivery Strategy is kept informed with updated briefing notes. However, we found that the notes did not include information about the challenges the Corporation faces or the corrective action it takes.”
This is a very serious statement, Mr. Speaker.
Can the minister clearly explain to the House today why he allowed his officials to keep him in the dark and indicate what he has done to include himself in the loop on very real challenges facing the corporation and Nunavut?
Hon. Patterk Netser: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) He caught me before Question Period was over.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General’s report, I think, is a really good report.
I have read it and I find it very interesting.
I think we can run with this to the federal government and leverage more funding to address our severe housing shortages in Nunavut.
As for the member’s question, the Auditor General’s report indicates that this report goes up to the end of December. Mr. Speaker, I was appointed this portfolio at the end of December.
Since that time, I have been actively involved in the Nunavut Housing Trust programs and the president keeps me up to date on a regular basis.
I thank the minister for his confidence as to what’s happening there.
I believe the statement by the Auditor General is quite important and she indicated that she had not been able to find records about the very real challenges facing the corporation other than the good news stories.
I have been raising concerns for some time about the manner in which the NHC changed its approach to the marshalling and shipping of housing material.
The Auditor General’s report indicates that by December 2007, the corporation had cancelled its contract and had incurred more than $500,000 in additional costs to move material which had been left behind in Montreal to the new contractor’s premises.
Earlier this year, the minister announced a new contract with Illamar Marshalling of Ontario.
What assurances can the minister provide to the House today that critical housing supplies will be delivered to our communities on time and on budget this year?
With the fiasco over the recent marshalling contract, we had to take it away from them in order to make sure that the delivery went in a smooth manner and that is why we incurred the cost.
Otherwise, we would have had millions of dollars worth of inventory sitting at that place of which we would have had no access to and that is why we incurred that extra $500,000.
As for the material going into the communities, I think, from the last briefing, most of the material has been shipped to or airlifted to all of the Nunavut communities and we expect to start construction very shortly.
I believe that the Auditor General is very specific when she deals with a number of problems that are arising within the particular agencies and departments.
I believe that she is alluding to the fact that it’s not just the marshalling contract that creates problems; it was way in which the materials were purchased and shipped to the marshalling site.
The Auditor General’s report also concluded that the NHC, and I quote, “does not monitor the activities of its community partners well enough to ensure that they comply with its policies and procedures in delivering the Public Housing Program, nor does it adequately monitor the maintenance of public housing units and the overall condition of its housing portfolio.”
Can the minister explain why the Nunavut Housing Corporation failed in this area and indicate what direction he has given to the corporation to address this issue?
With 23 vacancies of the 89 positions that the NHC has, and on page 25 of the Auditor General’s report, they had found that the discussion CEC, which is the managing directors, I quote, “In fact, we found that CEC discussions and decisions mainly dealt with operational issues, such as capital acquisitions, fire damages, etcetera.”
It’s because of the lack of staff, Mr. Speaker.
The Auditor General’s report recommends that the Nunavut Housing Corporation should review the mandate and terms of reference for the Corporate Executive Committee to determine whether any changes are needed.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated yesterday in my Member’s Statement, I believe that the corporation needs to go even further - change of senior management, clean house, and put in effective management.
Will this minister do this? If not, why continue with a system that doesn’t work?
I believe the senior staff of the Nunavut Housing Corporation has done an amenable job in keeping our housing issues addressed at the level they are.
With the 23 vacancies that we have, I think they have done a great job in terms of delivering the housing projects and Mr. Speaker, I will not ask to replace the senior management of the corporation.
Question 559 – 2(4): GN Response to Government Operations Committee Report on Auditor General’s Report on FANS Program (Tootoo)
Before I ask my question, I would just like to say hi to my good friend, Brian, and direct my question to our good friend, the Minister of Education, Minister Picco.
Mr. Speaker, on November 7 of last year, as the Chairperson for the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Accountability, I presented a report on the Auditor General’s Report on FANS, Mr. Speaker, and I’ll quote myself.
On that day, I said, “Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Rule 91(5), the standing committee formally requests that the government present a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days.”
Mr. Speaker, that 120 days ran out on March 6 of this year which is past.
So I’m just wondering if the minister could let us know why he hasn’t tabled that report yet.
I appreciate the member’s and the House’s support on the FANS program, and indeed, we have addressed many of the issues within the FANS program.
Specifically on the report, I actually drafted a letter and sent it to the member and the committee several months ago now that they have received.
I have been in communication with the Clerk’s Office here.
It is my understanding that I will just take that report, change the format of it, and I’ll table it in the House and make it a formal report which will suffice, I think, for the member.
So there is no mystery. He has seen the report, it’s out there, and I’ll just format it and put it before the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for letting the member let people know that.
I guess as the minister did to my colleague earlier, Mr. Simailak, it just proves that myth, or concern, or guess that people had out there when they say, “What they say isn’t really what they mean.”
Mr. Speaker, that letter that the minister was talking about was the letter that was sent to me as the chairperson of the standing committee from the deputy minister.
It was just a status report of where they were at on their action plan. It is not a comprehensive response to our report and I’m sure that the minister, as experienced as he is, has seen many responses to committee reports tabled in this House over his tenure.
I certainly hope that he doesn’t just try and pass off a status report, change the name on it, and table it and call that a comprehensive response to our report.
So when will he commit to providing, as required under our Rules, an adequate response to the standing committee’s report on the Auditor General’s Report on the FANS program?
I know that the member had referred earlier to some Brian person or something, and I suggest to you that there is no one in this House, Mr. Speaker, there is no one in the listening audience, and there is no one in Nunavut, who has been watching Mr. Tootoo since 1999 in this Assembly, who would definitely question his ability to read.
And I suggest to you, Mr. Speaker, when I provide that report to the member and table it in the House, even Mr. Tootoo will be able to see the comprehension and not only the comprehension but the actual verbiage, the articulation of words in that report that he will be able to treasure in the next three to four days.
I am certainly looking forward to more verbiage from the minister.
I think he has a bit of a reputation for verbiage.
I would like to ask the minister, he said he’s looking at tabling it in the next three or four days, but can he explain why, pursuant to our Rules, he hasn’t tabled it as was required by March 6?
I do know the Rules; I think if the member would look at the Rules and see what it actually says, the timeframe given, I believe he would understand then what the concern was.
There is nothing being hidden here.
I had the deputy minister write a report basically giving the overview of the information that was requested to the standing committee because I had been travelling, and I will prepare a tabling document and table it formerly in the House. I think we will meet the member’s requirements as well as the standing committee’s earlier questions.
So there is no mystery, there is no controversy, and there is no big issue here, other than probably some misinformation, I guess, on when it should have been tabled.
Yesterday, our office here in the Assembly tabled the report over the last few days of a whole bunch of documents that need to be tabled and filed at a given time, and as House Leader, I have been going back and forth to our minister and colleagues making sure that happens. So there are some delays in filing reports in the House and I think the information the member wanted, he has received and I’m sure he shared that with his committee, and we will table it and make it a tabled document in the House.
The minister indicated that he knows the Rules very well, which is why we had to do that motion yesterday to formally withdraw a bill from the House that he thought he could take out with a Minister’s Statement.
Mr. Speaker, my question, and I can read, too, the rule states that the response to this report must present a comprehensive report within 120 days and as I stated earlier, that ran out on March 6. I know he has indicated that it’s coming forward, and I’m not saying, I don’t know why he would think that I would be implying, that he is trying to hide anything.
But just from the committee’s point of view and after his Minister’s Statement last week on the FANS program, I’m interested to see the rest of the response from the government to the committee’s recommendations. I know that the status report was just dealing with a certain area in the report, but there were more issues to that report than just referring to the status page that he is talking about.
Again, can I ask the minister why he has been delayed, delinquent, and late in tabling that report before the House?
The member knows full well and the House knows full well that, in the past, when bills have not gone forward, they fall off the Order Paper.
It was the first time in this House and actually, it was a bit of a precedent when the House Leader moved to put the bill back into the House when it was reported back. The House Leader used our Rules and we had to review those Rules, and said, “Well, maybe you should have given more notice of the motion.” So what the House Leader was doing at the time was quite intriguing.
Yes, I would be able to report back to the House in a couple of days, Mr. Speaker, and the information will be available.
The reason for the delay is we have only been sitting for three days, I have committed to table that report before the House, and we have several more days to do that.
The member and the committee have 99 percent of the report that they have received in letter form from the deputy minister. All they will receive now are probably some salutations with a little bit more of a comprehensive report that he has requested.
I could have said something about the motion, but I won’t.
(interpretation) Going back to the Orders of the Day. Question Period is now over.
Written Question 014 – 2(4): Attendance and Graduation Rates in the Kitikmeot (Peterson)
I have a Written Question for the Minister of Education on attendance and graduation rates in the Kitikmeot.
Within the meaning of section 27 and section 28 of the current Education Act, how does the government define, measure and track student attendance at Nunavut schools?
Sections 27 and 28 of the current Education Act specify the requirements for attendance at school as well as the consequences for non-attendance.
Since April 1, 1999, has the department received any reports or queries from schools or district education authorities on the implementation of these sections of the Act, and if so, what action was taken?
Broken down by school year, from 1999 to the present, what were the attendance rates for all Kitikmeot schools?
Broken down by school year, from 1999 to the present, what were the graduation rates for all the Kitikmeot high schools?
Item 12. Reports of Committees on Review of Bills.
Committee Report on Bills 012 – 2(4): Bill 26, Securities Act (As Amended) (Mapsalak)
I wish to report that Bill 26, the Securities Act, has been reviewed by the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit, and the bill as amended is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 68(6) and have Bill 26 moved into Committee of the Whole for today.
The member is seeking unanimous consent to waive Rule 68(6) to have Bill 26 moved into the Committee of the Whole for today.
There are no nays. Bill 26 will be moved into Committee of the Whole.
Item 12. Report of Committees on the Review of Bills.
Committee Report on Bills 013 – 2(4): Bill 27, An Act to Amend the Land Titles Act (Mapsalak)
I wish to report that Bill 27, An Act to Amend the Land Titles Act, has been reviewed by the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit, and the bill is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 68(6) and have Bill 27 moved into Committee of the Whole for today.
The member is seeking unanimous consent to waive Rule 68(6) and have Bill 27 moved into Committee of the Whole for today.
Bill 27 will be moved into Committee of the Whole.
Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation and Minister of Economic Development and Transportation, Minister Netser.
Tabled Document 238 – 2(4): Ministerial Meeting Report – F/P/T Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety, April 2008 from Dept. of Economic Development and Transportation (Netser)
Tabled Document 239 – 2(4): Northern Connections: a Multi-Modal Transportation Blueprint for the North (Netser)
I am pleased to table two documents. One is the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministerial Meeting Report for the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety, and the other one, Mr. Speaker, is Northern Connections, a Multi-Modal Transportation Blueprint for the North.
We will just have those documents brought forward to the table, please.
Tabled Document 240 – 2(4): Dry Cargo Resupply Program - Activity Summary Shipping Year 2007 (Brown)
I am pleased to table the Dry Cargo Re-supply Program Activity Summary of Shipping Year 2007.
We will just have the document brought forward to the table, please.
Motion 038 – 2(4): Appointment of Deputy Chairperson of the Committee of the Whole – Notice (Mapsalak)