EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I know that people have already been in Gjoa Haven attending workshops.
Mr. Speaker, I want to make a point that these two programs that are mentioned complement each other.
We need to instil in our youth a strong sense of identity and pride in their Inuit culture.
We also need to help them gain the experience and skills to be successful in today’s modern and complex world.
I would like to urge the youth and to praise them and to be proud of them and that those of us in the government are extremely proud of our youth and that there will be creation of employment and other programs for the youth.
Member’s Statement 641 – 1(6): Concerns About Air Transportation in the Communities
First of all, I would like to apologize to the people of Igloolik because I was not able to go to their community on Saturday.
Mr. Speaker, I will keep trying to go to that community on every opportunity I get.
Mr. Speaker, as a representative of the Amittuq area you know that this is not the first time that I have brought this issue up about transportation to the communities in my area.
The reason why I could not go up to the community of Igloolik was not only because of the ticketing problem, it was the size of the airplane.
All the passengers could not board the plane because the plane was too small to accommodate the number of people going there.
I am sure that this is not a problem unique to the people of Amittuq, but also in the other regions.
This problem has been experienced by the Land Claims Organizations and other people, including myself.
The Qikiqtani Inuit Association representatives, Kimuq Qamukaaq and George Qulaut, from the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit Katimajiit could not board the plane; there was another person who could not get on the plane.
First Air was our carrier and the people who I was trying to go up with are now enroute to Igloolik.
The transportation links in Nunavut are of extreme concern now.
They cannot keep up with the forced growth, or the number of passengers who are moving from Iqaluit to the smaller communities.
I am not saying that First Air is not providing a good service; what I am saying is that they are not keeping up with the increase in the population.
Mr. Irqittuq (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and colleagues. I am sure that you would like to hear the rest of my statement.
Mr. Speaker, First Air cannot keep up with the increasing population.
Last year I asked questions to the appropriate Minister on how they set up the transportation system in Nunavut.
They did make a change with the medical passengers.
Afterwards, because of course, there are other people going from point A to point B, every time you go to the airport, and every time you try to go on an airline, you are bumped because there are too many people on the list be it Canadian, or First Air, or another carrier; you have the same problem the whole time.
So what I would like to say is that there needs to be an increase in the number of flights in order to meet the demands of the clients, and of course, the money makers would be the airline business.
Member’s Statement 642 – 1(6): Youth of Nunavut Our Future
I am very proud to make this statement.
I would like to thank my colleagues for supporting me in this area.
I would like to say that the youth of Nunavut are our future.
It is something that I am looking forward to.
For those of us in leadership positions, we have to support our youth and support them in their education.
However, there will always be obstacles.
The parents of these youth are the ones who are rearing the children and they work extremely hard for their children, and because our youth are our future, we have to do that and we love them; we love our youth.
I would like to tell the youth that you are loved, that you are our hope.
Sometimes we go through very hard times as parents also for those who are in the older age category.
I am proud of our youth because of course I have my own children also.
I’m sure that some of the youth would like to become a representative in the House.
They have the future to look forward to.
Listen to your parents and remember that life is precious.
Member’s Statement 643 – 1(6): Iqaluit Music Society a Successful Event
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with Members a very successful event that was held here in Iqaluit on Saturday.
Mr. Speaker, the Iqaluit Music Society hosted a coffee house on Saturday evening at Inuksuk High School to raise funds for the musical activities for youth.
The Tisi Gathering Area rang out with sounds of different musical styles.
The audience was treated to performances by a number of renowned local musicians.
These included the Aqsaarnit Middle School Choir and alumni, John Laird’s Fiddlers, country performer, Jerry Budreau and I just might note that I thought I was back in Nashville when I heard him singing up there but not in the vehicle that Mr. Picco was in.
That’s a completely different story there.
Mr. Speaker, also the throat singers, Madeleine Allakariallak and Sylvia Cloutier were there.
The all woman band, Tundra Gold featuring Heather Daly, Rannva Simonsen and Crystal Fuller.
The debut of the Iqaluit Music Society performance of Ivory Hail featuring Andrew Morrison, Brandon Doherty and Alex Fulsky.
Mr. Speaker, there was also visiting Swedish artist who performed, Halina Loveraz.
Mr. Speaker, on a side note, I imagine that all Members would like to know whether our very own Ministerial Minstrel, Mr. Picco performed as well.
I can assure the House that he did not.
Mr. Speaker, the Iqaluit Music Society does excellent work in this community and helps budding young musicians to develop their talents and provides wonderful opportunities for youth to get involved with activities that bring so much joy to so many.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask all Members to join me in singing the praises of Iqaluit’s Music Society.
Member’s Statement 644 – 1(6): New Apex DEA Members
Mr. Speaker, over the last several weeks I have had so many invitations to perform, I have not had an opportunity.
So, what I am working, again, through with the official agent for myself and the singing prop.
Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to take this opportunity to congratulate the Members of the new Apex District Education Authorities.
Mr. Speaker, they are Aida Attagoyuk, Anne Crawford, Angie Doig, Oolaali Ell, Martha Kuvianaktuk, Jacopoosie Peter and Mr. Speaker, Mark Wisintainer.
Mr. Speaker, the work of the District Education Authority to oversee and intercede on behalf and for the parents and teachers is very important.
I look forward to working with the District Education Authority over the coming years.
Mr. Speaker, please join with me in congratulating the Apex District Education Authority members.
Member’s Statement 645 – 1(6): Nunavummiut to Work Harder on Abuse and Violence
I was just about to write my note.
I rise today to talk about this issue, although we are working very hard, it seems like we, perhaps they are being neglected, but it continues to happen.
Different types of abuses, violence, sexual abuse, incest and they say that the majority of the time drugs are to blame, but perhaps the reason why the abusers become abusive is the vicious cycle and the drugs that are used to hide their true feelings.
I think it is time that we work harder to eradicate these kinds of abuses like violence, abuse, sexual abuse and incest.
When people go to voice their concerns, yes, they talk about their issues, but why can’t we talk about these kinds of abuses, why are we, the public out there, are not working hard enough to eradicate these kinds of abuses?
It seems like we are neglecting this issue and we do not openly discuss these abuses, perhaps, they are too close to the heart.
I am not talking about just us.
I believe that all of the public members of Nunavut have to work harder to eradicate these kinds of abuses.
If we continue with these abuses, Nunavut may look good in documents and people, but tends to also be good within ourselves because once an individual cares about their life, then they can lead to have a better life and a healthier life.
Let us continue to work harder on these issues.
We will move onto Item 4.
I have an individual coming from my community who is visiting here; he is married to my wife’s sister, Steva Ipeelie.
We have all sorts of economic development officers in training.
He is also in training on his way to Rankin Inlet for the workshop.
I am quite proud of him.
Members to my left, and to some of you, right, we have a delegation.
In the gallery, I would like to welcome those participating in the Early Childhood Education Program, from Nunavut Arctic College.
They’re lead by Paula McRae and Louie Mike.
Question 627 – 1(6): Lobby the Federal Government to Have Live Television Broadcast from Iqaluit
Mr. McLean: Thank you, Mr. Speaker for recognising me right off the bat here and it’s good because my first question today is going to the Premier of Nunavut, Paul Okalik.
Mr. Speaker, it’s been almost five years since Nunavut was created and it’s been a hectic five years with the government trying to get departments up and running and the large turn-over of staff etc. etc.
In the last almost five years, I’d have to say that we’ve got excellent coverage from CBC Radio, Nunatsiaq News, Kivalliq News and News North, but we seem to lack one media organization in this territory and I don’t know if it’s the Premier’s responsibility, but could he lobby on support of the Government of Nunavut for CBC Television to set up a live T.V. broadcast from Iqaluit.
I will make sure that message is conveyed to the appropriate bodies.
I know that CBC is an arm of the Federal Government and is funded largely by federal money, but is also a separate entity of the Federal Government.
We will do what we can to lobby the Federal Government making sure that Nunavut is heard.
Question 628 – 1(6): Cultural Orientation Program for New RCMP Recruits
I would like to direct my question to the Minister Responsible for the Department of Justice.
Although I know we are very happy to see RCMP detachments in all the communities of Nunavut, but at the same time it is sad we need these detachments.
The communities needed the RCMP detachment, but my first question, is there an orientation program geared towards new RCMP officers because our culture is very different from theirs.
I was wondering if you provide cultural orientation prior to the officers being stationed in a community in Nunavut.
When they go to another community, the culture is totally alien to them.
Yes, the RCMP runs their own affairs and we speak to them when problems arise.
I would like to say that we’ve been working very closely together with the RCMP or the V division in Nunavut.
Back in 1999, there were two Inuit officers and now, to date, there are over 30 Inuit officers in Nunavut.
Ever since we had Nunavut, that’s why we are encouraged to see more Inuit people in the RCMP force.
Yes, it’s really good to get that many Inuit officers, but when do we expect to see the Inuit officers running the detachments?
The reason why I’m asking this question is that yes, I’m very glad to see over 30 Inuit people in the RCMP area.
So I was wondering when we can expect to see Inuit officers in managerial positions?
I would like to ask the Premier if he could make sure, or to encourage the RCMP to…I am not blaming the Premier, but for example, if there is going to be new officers who are going to be sent to Repulse Bay, or a smaller community, such as Whale Cove and Chesterfield Inlet, can the RCMP Division be given cultural orientation prior to them being stationed in the smaller community so that they could have more respect for the community?
Yes, the new non-native officers are trained the same as the Inuit officers so that they can develop themselves as they work within the detachment.
We expect to see the Inuit officers getting into managerial positions.
I have corresponded with the Inspector and every time we run into problems, yes, we have to work together to resolve some of the problems that they encounter.
I am very glad that the communities themselves request the RCMP Officers to stay longer.
In the communities the rule is that the RCMP Officer has to move to a different community every two years.
It is very interesting to start seeing that Inuit requesting their own Police Officers to stay or to remain within their own community.
Mr. Anawak: I am very hopeful that these young recruits are going to be in charge of the RCMP one day in Nunavut.
However, that day is still far off.
All that I am asking for is that the Minister relay the message to the RCMP that there needs to be more time spent, but I do not know who, teaching the RCMP that they are entering a different kind of culture.
They are entering into a different environment.
They are entering a different language.
There are going to be interpreters.
All I am saying is that the new recruits from the south, and they are going into the new communities, we all know that there might be an Inuk in a community but more than likely the person in charge will be somebody from the south.
I am saying that, can he relay the message to the RCMP that there has to be a full cultural orientation by these people.
There needs to be a more thorough cultural orientation for these people going into the north for the first time and who are based in a small community.
What I will do is undertake to speak to the Commanding Officer and see what we can do. As everyone in the House is aware, that the RCMP operate on their own, and we contract their services, and we work with them.
And we have our expectation of policing in the Territory.
I will convey that message to the Commanding Officer.
I would also like just to make sure that the recruits that they are trying to get from the communities are given an equal opportunity to…I have had some comments come to me from one of my constituents in Rankin Inlet, who had his son going in and trying to apply for RCMP recruit.
Without a criminal record, high school finished, and for some reason he was not given consideration.
Can the Minister either ensure that they have a part or somewhere have a role in recruiting, not just the RCMP by themselves, or that they have a part because as much as the RCMP is operating on it’s own, they’re under contract to the Government of Nunavut.
So, can the Minister ensure that all the (interpretation) ones that try out for RCMP training, can they make sure that they are getting the opportunity, because they don’t have a criminal record, can the Minister and his department try to make sure that these RCMP are sensitive to those people?
I'm sure that there are additional requests to join the RCMP and that’s very encouraging.
Yes, I would love to see more and do my part in making sure that people who may be eligible are allowed to join the RCMP.
At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we expect these young Inuit officers to meet the same criteria and standards as any officer in the country so that they can go and do anything that they want in the RCMP and get promotions.
That’s the underlying requirement.
They don’t have to be special.
They’re good on their own and they can make it on their own.
So, if there are anymore names that the Members want to pass on to me, I’m more than willing to invite them.
Question 629 – 1(6): Use of Inuktitut Language in the Workplace
Mr. Speaker, I haven’t made any plans with the other Members of this House but I would like to ask my question to the Premier.
Under the Bathurst Mandate, which was done in Bathurst Inlet for the development of the future, it’s in regards to Inuktitut language usage in the Government of Nunavut.
I don’t see any today within the Government departments, whether the employees are being trained at all.
It states in the plan that it’s up to the year 2020.
This year is 2003 and the years are passing us by.
There are only so many years left.
Does the government have in place or is the government starting to use the Inuktitut language in the work place or was that just lip service?
Yes, the plan that we had at that time, we would like to reach that goal.
What we’re trying to do is get more Inuit employed within government departments, which is starting to become more visible.
We have stated that we would like to be able to use Inuktitut in the work place more and that Inuktitut would be the language of the government by a certain year.
What we’re trying to do is to train our unilingual employees how to speak Inuktitut within the workplace and we have been encouraging training of our staff within the departments.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, we would like to do it in law but, so the Members are also involved in the legislation that we produce and we will have the committee members to support us.
I’m not saying whether there’s been any training within the department’s of civil servants but my question was, I don’t see, are there any plans in place within the government in regards to Inuktitut speaking public service?
I’m not saying how many civil servants there are right now.
What I’m saying is that we’re going to have public servants all the time as long as the Nunavut Government is in place.
I know that we will never always be speaking Inuktitut at all times.
In Greenland, I have heard, in their Home Rule government, they can all speak in the Greenlandic language.
Do we have something in such as the Greenland government and when will that be possible to achieve?
Yes, I agree with the Member.
The Greenland people got their government in the 1970s and we just got our government in 1999.
We would like to be able to function like the Greenlandic government, all Inuktitut speaking and we would like to achieve that.
What we are doing is as much as we can do.
Whoever wants to take Inuktitut training or all the civil servants will have to learn to speak Inuktitut if they don’t know how already.
That is our plan and that’s what we want to do.
So, Inuktitut could be a spoken language within our government.
At this time, I cannot really give a definitive answer but we aiming to achieve that goal.
It’s very hard for some people to learn a different language, just like the Members.
Their speaking language is Inuktitut and they can’t learn English right away so it’s the same way with our public servants.
Yes, I understand what he is saying.
I know that there is training in place at this time with the public servants.
We talked about the Bathurst Mandate and I’m pretty sure that it could be achieved and not just through words.
I know I’m ahead of myself for some of the things that I’m saying but I know that there’s going to be many unilingual employees within the government.
If they do not know how to speak Inuktitut or Inuinnaqtut, it is not right; we will not achieve the Bathurst Mandate.
Does it say that they will be Inuktitut speaking in the year 2020 or so?
Yes, I understand what the Premier is saying that they train their public servants, but they cannot speak Inuktitut.
When will that plan be done?
I am not really sure exactly what the Member is asking me, but I am telling him it is out, we are trying to train our public servants who would like to take the training or they can get the assistance of whoever wants to help out and this is what we are trying to achieve within the 20 years.
We are not just sitting around and doing nothing about it because the people that we represent as Nunavut Government are a majority.
The majority of our population speaks Inuktitut and we will not stop there; we are continuing to do that.
Yes, I appreciate the Premier’s response.
Perhaps I am not coming across clearly; what I am trying to ask is, when will we be able to speak within our Government like the Greenland Government, speak in their language, the Inuktitut language?
Like I said, the Greenland Government became a Government in 1979 and the Nunavut Government became a Government in 1999.
We just recently started in 1999 and within 20 years, we would like to achieve our plan of Government speaking in Inuktitut and Innuinaqtut within 20 years.
So, that is the plan that we have in place and we will continue to have that plan.
I am not exactly sure when we will be all Inuktitut speaking Government, but our plan is to reach that goal within 20 years.
Question 630 – 1(6): Involved in Replacing the RCMP Hats
Mr. Speaker, I would like to direct my question to the Minister if Justice.
Mr. Speaker, last week, under Members’ Statement, the Minister was not here at that time.
Mr. Speaker, we are proud of the many things we are able to produce such as traditional clothing produced out of fur.
We should be using more traditional clothing from Nunavut.
This is very important for Inuit, the muskrat and sealskins are very important and they have been used by the people of Nunavut for a long time and we would like them to be able to be used more and I am sure the other Members of this House wants these products used in Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, not too long ago we heard through the media that the RCMP here in Nunavut always wore muskrat hats.
Apparently the animal rights activist had wanted them to discontinue the use of muskrat hats.
I was told that the RCMP living and working in Nunavut and in all of Canada wore hats made of muskrat fur, so what they are trying to do is to trying to replace those muskrat hats.
Mr. Speaker, please be patient with me Mr. Speaker, I will ask my question eventually.
I would like to ask the Minister of Justice if he is going to be involved in helping the RCMP to look for hats that are made out of synthetic materials.
Have you been involved in that, Mr. Premier?
If I had been involved, they would have been wearing sealskin hats today.
The RCMP operates their own entity and I was never involved when they made that decision.
As a government, we are promoting the usage of sealskin and other fur products and we have written to the Superintendent in Nunavut to encourage them and are in support of them wearing hats made of fur products.
I would also like to thank the Minister for his response and his support for more usage of natural furs.
Mr. Speaker, I did not know that the RCMP is a separate entity.
I believe that even though the RCMP operates independently or a part of the Federal Government, we have to provide them proper clothing that is suitable to our environment.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier, if he, as the Premier of Nunavut, that he should be in full support of promoting the Inuit traditional clothing and the culture.
Is it possible for the Premier to urge the Nunavut RCMP V Division to use more Nunavut-made and furs?
We had already informed the Division and we have written them a letter already encouraging them to keep using natural furs.
We could talk to them again, because of course the Nunavut furs and skins, they are the warmest, and they are the most suitable in this environment.
Maybe we could give them a distinct identity and have them wear Nunavut-made furs.
Thank you, Mr. Premier for your response.
We grew up in the wilderness when I was growing up, we only had traditional clothing, and the RCMP used to go into the Kitikmeot communities wearing caribou clothing, and all the clothing was traditionally made and their guides were Inuit from the Kitikmeot area.
Because of course, the traditional clothing is the warmest in this environment; I think Nunavummiut should be thanked by the RCMP.
My last question to the Premier, and as the Minister Responsible for Justice, that he should talk to the RCMP and that the RCMP should not forget the support that they received from Inuit and they should use our products.
What kind of fur are you going to be replacing the muskox with?
We have told the RCMP that they should not be listening to Green Peace and other animal rights activists.
We have told them that if they are considering replacing their muskrat hats, that they should consider other natural furs.
We will be in support of their decision if they decide to go that other alternative.
Question 631 – 1(6): Cabinet Decision on Contract
Mr. Speaker, last week, I asked the Minister in regards to cabinet’s decision on awarding the health centre contract in Rankin Inlet to Sanajiit/Clark Builders Joint Venture.