EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I am just wondering Mr. Chairman if the department will be looking at honouring those…(inaudible comment)…or maybe taking back those responsibilities from the Municipalities that are already doing it?
Chairperson: Mr. Mrazek.
Mr. Mrazek: Every case will be slightly different, when the local housing association is able, willing to provide for capital projects, I’m referring to housing as you mentioned before, but definitely we'll give them every opportunity to do that.
Most housing associations are developed to the point that they are able to provide this type of building activity.
Some of them are more developed than others, but it’s individual cases, because it’s supporting local community, we always look into that first before the decision is made.
Speaker: (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Mrazek.
I would hope that it would happen within the Baffin, I know over the last 2 years all the LHO's had delivered all the capital.
In the case of the existence the old structure the housing corporation provided technical advise and support, to the LHO's and to Municipalities and with that advise and support, that type of a structure they were able to deliver this program.
I’m wondering will that be still the case and continuing along with that type of service and more of an advisory and support role.
Mr. Mrazek.
Mr. Mrazek: Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Yes, that basically will continue Mr. Tootoo and I said before and we are giving local housing organization, every opportunity for further improvement, so they are able to deliver the Capital Projects.
Chairperson: (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Mrazek.
I have few more short questions, is your Department responsible for setting the rents, the staff will be paying for all the staff housing units.
Mr. Mrazek: It’s not exactly public works responsibility it's joint responsibility mainly it is the Department Human Resources and some advise from public works as far as the technical qualifications are concerned.
Thank you Mr. Chairman
Does your Department, would they have an idea as I understand your Department covers off all the lease costs related to staff housing.
We have to know what rents are going to be charged in order to know the effect and therefore, determine the levels of subsidies that are provided to staff for staff housing.
I’m wondering if the Ministers' staff can provide us with information on what those subsidies are for the various staff housing units.
I’ll be glad to give you, there is no very simple answer to that question, but I’ll be glad to give you a written response, if you want or a summary rent list scale and proportions between the subsidy and the full rent because individual cases vary quite a bit, slightly different community by community.
Approximately 60% very roughly, 60% to 40%, when the 60% is paid by the tenant and 40% is approximately paid by the Government subsidy.
But that’s a very general rule.
I told you that you would have a last question, these people still have not made a comment.
Mr. Alakannuark: (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Chairman.
I would like to ask a question in regards to petroleum products.
In Pelly Bay, usually when the planes come in to my community, there’s no fuel for the airplanes, and that barge cannot really transport fuel and we are requesting that we get aviation fuel in our community.
I was wondering if you department can find ways if to get aviation fuel in Pelly Bay.
That’s my first question, to find out if we can get aviation fuel, how can we get aviation fuel in our community.
Chairperson: (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Alakannuark.
Hon. Manitok Thompson: Thank you Mr. Chairman.
In regards to the MLAs comments, I will look into it, because I don’t know if we have dealt with it but I’ll look in to this issue and get back to the MLA, when I get the results and I’ll get my officials to look into that.
Chairperson: (interpretation): Thank you Ms. Thompson.
Mr. Alakannuark, I think Mr. Puqiqnak would like to make a comment now because he has been writing notes to me.
Mr.Puqiqnak: (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Chairman.
First of all I would like to apologize to my colleague and to her Department, although I stated earlier that I was a little upset.
As I had stated that, I don’t want to take part in your meeting, but I would like to apologize to you as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
I have to represent my community and I hope that we will be working closely together in the future.
I would like to say to you again, that I would like to meet with you Minister, thank you for responding to me, in regards to the snowmobiles, compensation and I know that you are not responsible for compensating for the lost of ski-doos for example, this is just going to be a comment.
In 1967 we’ve been utilizing snowmobiles since then in Gjoa Haven, although we’ve never requested for support financially from outside the community, or outside government, we’ve never requested from the previous government for support but the only thing is we're running into problems, because the communities are quite concerned about their fuel and it’s costing the community residents considerable amount of dollars when their snowmobiles breakdown.
If the minister can respond to me and perhaps clarify to us after, I think that it would’ve been better had I known about it.
Chairperson: (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Puqiqnak. Ms. Thompson.
Tomorrow morning I’ll meet with you at 11:00.
I will go ahead and meet with you, I didn’t think you wanted to take part, but we’ll continue meeting with you.
I received a letter from Mr. Puqiqnak, quite a lengthy letter.
I know that our Department will look into it but in regards to my comment, my comment is still not changed in regards to petroleum products going to the community, it has been researched, they said the results were positive, so for that reason according to my understanding, the snowmobiles, I still don’t understand if the gasoline is the cause of the snowmobiles breaking down.
I cannot tell you that I will be compensating for the snowmobiles but as I have stated to you earlier, we will look into it and we will deal with that.
I will to continue to work with it but I apologize that the results from the study, we still have not gotten the results yet, we haven’t had a chance to review the results yet. We are very busy and we still haven’t even had a chance to get together.
So I apologize to my colleague, but I must state that I am not prepared to, at this time, compensate for the skidoos because the results have come back from the review, both from the department and also from an independent consultant that was hired by the Hamlet.
So, based on that I can’t do anything about the skidoos, because I am not sure that it was the fuel that caused them.
Anyway in the future I am not prepared to help out with the skidoos.
Chairperson: Mr. Puqiqnak.  Mr. Puqiqnak: (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Now that we will meet with you tomorrow, I will expect better answers then.
Thank you for giving me a copy of your opening comment, for it gave me better information here.
Your main estimates for the department are divided, 67.1 million dollars for O&M and 5.7 for Capital.
In regards to Article 24, there is quite a bit of dollars to be contracted out accordance to Article 24.
Article 24 states that only if the company is 51% Inuit owned they would be the first priority to get the contract.
Are you using Article 24.
I would like to apologize, we were going to go before you tomorrow, so therefore the opening comments were not translated into Inuktitut, but in the future all of the documents will be translated into Inuktitut for all of our business. I know that the documents have been translated so I apologize to the interpreters for rushing them around, but the opening comments have been translated.
In regards to your question, Article 24, we will have to do things in accordance with Article 24.
Our department is now looking at BIP and Article 24.
It seems like Article 24 was not acknowledged by our previous government because there were more than one Aboriginal in that area.
For that reason we will work in accordance to Article 24 and how we can implement Article 24 and we will be working on this issue in the future and we will involve the regular members.
I would like to get your input but at this time we are at our initial stage.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): Thank you for giving me a very clear response.
Mr. Chairman in the Ministers remarks she has indicated that we will spend a budget of 67.1 million dollars for O&M.
I just note that a large part of this O&M is under asset management and is approximately 42 million dollars but there is no detail.
I wonder if the Minister and her staff could provide some detail as to what this 42 million dollars is for?
It is not contained in the budget book.
Hon. Manitok Thompson: Thank you Mr. Chairperson.
I am sorry we don't have the detail in front of us right now, but the Finance person here might be able to give us an idea what the question is.
We can certainly provide it in detail on paper at a later date if you want.
I will ask my finance person here to provide as much detail as he can from what he has.
Mr. Galbraith:….(inaudible comments)…million dollars and the other O&M consists of 50 million dollars.
That line includes the lease payments, O&M for the maintenance of the buildings, a multitude of activities that we perform.
Computer purchases, we now have computer IT technologists with us, we purchase all of the computers for the government and that is a major portion of our budget as well, I believe some 10 million dollars, 6 million of which is O&M.
I don't know how much detail you wanted but I could definitely provide that to you at a later date.
Mr. O'Brien: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I’m not trying to be difficult for asking if information is not reasonable, but I think it will be very, very difficult to pass this budget of this department without having that information available to us.
We’re talking about $47 million.
I think it’s important that we have an opportunity to see this otherwise, it wouldn’t be prudent for us to pass such a large amount of money without knowing the details.
Chairperson: (interpretation) The Finance Controller would like to respond.
Go ahead Mr. Ng.
Hon. Kelvin Ng: I just wanted to him to give me some clarification, because it just seems like you’re into the budget detail now.
I wasn’t sure if we’ve moved into that because it was in the general questions and if that’s the case it’s fine but they’d be prepared to answer when we get to the detail page.
Because we haven’t gotten into the page by page yet that, Mr. Chairman, is the point I was trying to make.
Chairperson (interpretation): Since your information is on the main estimates, go ahead.
I’m referring to the opening remarks made by the Minister. It does indicate $67.1 million.
So, really what I’m questioning is, it’s a question relating to opening remarks.
I don’t see the details in the budget, period.
But if that information is available going page by page well that's fine if we can have it before we conclude this department.
I'm more than pleased to agree with that.
Hon. Manitok Thompson: Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
It seems like the finance person here has dug out the information.
He can just read the list down if the member wishes to hear that. (interpretation) The finance person can go down the list with details.
Can he go ahead with those?
They’re not very long.
If it’s okay with you Mr. Chairman.
Mr. O’Brien: If the department has those details that’s fine.
We can wait until the page by page and hear what the details are then.
Chairperson (interpretation): So, are you done?
Let me first ask if Ms. Thompson, are you going to ask for comments from the person beside you?
What we usually do is that you have to ask general comments and then we go into the detail page by page.
And, I think that some of the questions that are being asked will be fitting into the page by page and then we can add in the amounts that we were talking about.
Just want to go back to the earlier comment made by Mr. Mrazek in regards to inquiring whether we wouldn’t mind seeing information written.
Then I would just ask for some kind of timeline when to expect that information.
Mr. Mrazek: If you’re referring to the rent scale, as far as the individual housing are concerned we can provide that within one weeks time.
Will that include the lease cost, the rent charged to the unit that the tenant would have to pay and the subsidy that the Nunavut government is paying?
Chairperson (interpretation): Go ahead.
Mr. Mrazek: I can provide that to you within one weeks time.
In the case of the other region it's probably a little bit longer but you know no problem there.
Since there are no more people willing or wanting to ask questions or comments.
So, back to the main estimates.
Do you have a copy.
The two people beside my witnesses don’t have a copy of the main estimates.
You can just go ahead, our financial officer doesn’t have one.
So, if there was a spare copy, he’s got it already.
Are you going to be reading?
Okay, do you want to go ahead with detail?
Who has bifocals, cause I can’t see up close.
I’m farsighted.
I left my reading glasses at my hotel.
Maybe those are better.
Okay, page 644.
If you look at that page.
Those glasses are very good, we have same eyesight.
Directorate, operations and maintenance total $4.317 million.
Total capital zero.
Total expenditures $4.317 million.
Project management, operations and maintenance total $5.448 million.
Just on this area, I guess, this is the area that provides all the project management in the communities. I’m wondering if the minister could provide us with the organizational chart of how many positions are in here and where they’re at in the communities they are going to serve.
Hon. Manitok Thompson: You want that provided right now or can you wait for the next few days?
Mr. Tootoo: Thank you Mr. Chairman I can wait for the next few days, maybe included on there put the level that your staff are right now and the schedule of when the rest of them are going to be filled.
Total O&M $5.448 million.
Capital projects nil.
Total expenditures $5.448 million.
Asset management, O&M total $47.278 million.
Mr. O’Brien: Thank you Mr. Chairman Without going into great detail, Madam Minister.
Get a breakdown as to what this $47 million consist of.
Chairperson (interpretation): Financial controller, I’ve forgotten your name. Sorry.
Mr. Galbraith.
Mr. Galbraith: I’ll try to be as concise as possible.
The $42 million, of course, is designated in this area of $586 thousand would be for travel, $1.5 million for materials and supplies which is for repairs through our maintenance program the buildings and to put into maintenance.…137 thousand, my apologies.
Utilities costs that we pay comes out of this task at 5.5 million dollars.
Contract Services is 34 million dollars, Fees & Payments 405 thousand dollars, other expenses 39 thousand, and computer hardware they have at 9 thousand dollars.
I could be mistaken but it doesn't seem to add up to 47 million dollars.
Mr. Galbraith: My apologies Mr. Chairperson.
It is 42 million that is for the O&M operations of asset management. 4.7 million is included into that for salaries and wages which is a total of 47.277.
Chairperson: Mr. O'Brien.
Under Asset Management do I assume that in this amount also covers leases?
Mr. Galbraith: Mr. Chairman that is correct.
Can I have the amount that is dedicated to just our lease costs.
The amount that is for leases.
Mr. Galbraith: Yes Mr. Chairman, the amount dedicated for lease payments for this year is approximately 20 million dollars.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. O'Brien does that answer your question?
Mr. O'Brien: Yes Mr. Chairman, I would ask if we could get a detailed written copy that the finance comptroller just provided to us in more detail, and just to get this clear in my mind.
He has indicated that our lease costs out of this 47 million dollars is approximately 20 million dollars.
Mr. Galbraith: That's the amount that has been budgeted, that's an approximation, I can get the exact and the specifications at a later date, but it's approximately 20 million dollars of that amount that has been budgeted for lease payments.
Madame Minister, if it is possible to get a detailed written list of all these items, not now but if we can get a written copy of that, hopefully later this week and especially what we are paying for leases.
My final question Mr. Chairman, if I may.
In reference to contract services and other amounts.
Can I have that amount again and maybe just a brief breakdown as to what it is for?
Hon. Manitok Thompson (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Chairperson we will provide that information he wanted and to everybody in this house.
I will ask that Mr. Gilbert to answer your other question.
Chairperson: Mr. Galbraith.
Mr. Galbraith: Thank you Mr. Chairperson.
Mr. Chairperson it is something as well in that 34 million dollars contract payments, part of that is leases.
I mentioned about 20 million, the rest of that would be contracted out for the maintenance of the buildings, the electrical checks, the plumbing checks, that sort of thing.
That's all privatized, most of that is privatized, and we do go out for contract tenders on this amount.
Chairperson (interpretation): Okay your very last question Mr. O'Brien.
Mr. O'Brien: Thank you Mr. Chairperson for your indulgence.
Just a quick question.
In reference to our lease costs, does this 20 million dollars include leases, for example, I am just trying to find out where they are at, leases for our new Legislative Assembly building, our new office complex in Arviat, and other office complexes that are being built as we speak.
Is that included in that 20 million dollars.
Chairperson (interpretation): Galbraith or Ms. Thompson.
Mr. Galbraith: Yes that is included in that amount.
This 20 million dollars you say is budgeted for lease payments this year, is that anticipated, or budgeted to be more next year, as more building come on line?
I am just wondering how much it is going to be increasing over the coming years.
We do Main Estimates each year which are approved by this house, and at this time we don't have this information, once we go through this budget process again it will be there, if it is there, but right now these are the numbers that we are working with.
We have to recognize the clock, we have to extend by motion to go past 6 o'clock.
Total operations and maintenance 47 million 278 thousand.
Capital Projects.
Total expenditures, 47 million, 278 thousand.
Asset Management, detail.
Baffin total 2 million 950 thousand.
Baffin.
Keewatin 1 million, 469 thousand.
Total Kitikmeot.
Total 1 million 350 thousand.
Some Members: Agreed.  Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you.
Total Capital 5 million, 769 thousand. Agreed?
Informatics and telecommunications, total operations & maintenance 10 million, 89 thousand. Capital nil. Total expenditures 10 million, 89 thousand.
Petroleum Products division, I wonder who did the translations they don't make much sense.
Operations & Maintenance, total operations & maintenance, nothing. Capital, total Capital 5 million, 769 thousand. Total Expenditures, 5 million, 769 thousand.
Petroleum Products Revolving Fund.
Information item.
Public Service Revolving Fund.
In reference to the Petroleum Products Revolving Fund.
We have an authorized limit of 60 million dollars, the expenditures are at 39.807.
I wonder if the Minister or one of her staff could speak briefly to the workings of this fund and the purpose so members can have a better understanding as to what it is for?
Chairperson: Galbraith.
The Revolving Fund is set up separately from Public Works as all revolving funds are.
I guess the best way to put it is that it is basically a separate balance sheet altogether and it doesn't play into the regular expenditures of the government.
The authorized limit here of 60 million was taken from all of the GNWT for last year, and it could be cut down considerably.
It was put together, as you'll notice the other revolving funds as well, and it was taken from the Main Estimates from last year, because we couldn't put the number together quick enough.
But that is the authorized limit.
As far as the revolving fund works, it's independent of all, and it conducts sales and operations independently and at the end of the year it is all audited and its' main purpose is not a profit making organization, but to come out even for all their sales.
Their supplying the service of providing fuel to the communities, so their expenditures are to try to equal the sales.
Mr. Chairman, in view of the time we will soon have to make a decision as to whether to extend our hours to conclude this department.
Or we would have to make a motion to report progress.
I certainly don't want to make that on behalf of the members, so we should get consensus as to what the wish is before we run out of time.
Mr. O'Brien: Mr. Chairman, I would like to move that we extend the hours to conclude this item.
Chairperson (interpretation): There is a motion on the floor to extend the time to conclude this department.
Those in favour of the motion, please signify.
Those opposed.
Our meeting will go beyond 6 o'clock to finish this department.
Just on that, you said the authorized limit is 60 million dollars and we should be able to come in way short of that and that was the amount for last year that was in the total GNWT budget.
Is that an amount that is taken out and put aside, an amount of dollars, or is that just, a limit that you can go up to, it is not tying up any dollars from anywhere else.
Is that the case?
Yes that is correct Mr. Chairman.
Chairperson (interpretation): Public Service Revolving Fund.
You don't have to agree to that.
Okay. 6.12 Granular Program Revolving Fund, information item. 6.13 detail of work performed on behalf of third parties.
I had a question on the Granular Program Revolving Fund.
Unfortunately I didn't get recognized in time before you switched over.
I would ask to go back and ask a short little question in regards to the Granular Program Revolving Fund.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Tootoo is requesting to go back to the Granular Program Revolving Fund.
Since I don't hear any nays, you may go ahead Mr. Tootoo.
Try to put your hand up high when you want to speak so we can see you.
I'm only so tall but I will try better.
Mr. Chairman just again, just a question for clarification.
Is this amount again another amount that was derived from last year's GNWT budget?
If so, if it was not, that is my first point on that question, if you could answer that.
I want you to understand that the department of Public Works really didn’t have a finance division set up at headquarters and the regional office, we weren't much involved in this.
Well we were involved in the sense that we were consulted by the department of Finance in putting this budget together.
To answer your question, yes this is a GNWT number coming from last year's Main Estimates.
The number, more theoretically here, in Nunavut is more to the 4 - 6 million range.
I just want to confirm that it was not just a Nunavut thing as I would imagine that if it was taken off last years' there's going to be a lot more need for granular materials throughout Nunavut.
Hon. Manitok Thompson: Thank you Mr. Chairperson, the second comment, I think the last comment he made was just a comment not a question.
I ask for your indulgence.
I was concentrating on the Petroleum Products Revolving Fund when I asked the question as to whether we should report progress or continue.
Once we made that agreement, I didn't get a chance to finish my question.
I wonder if I could go back for one question regarding the Petroleum Products Revolving Fund and the 60 million dollars that's identified in the budget?
Chairperson (interpretation): I believe this has to be approved.
Are you asking us to agree?
As I've indicated the authorized limit is 60 million dollars in the revolving fund.
This I believe is also a GNWT figure.
So is this representing, at the time, the total fund for the GNWT and for Nunavut?
If it is then this fund should be much greatly reduced and probably cut in half, if that is my understanding.