Nunakput

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. That's a good response. On the next line, I know MTS, I gave the Minister a hard time last year on MTS, and I know it's not an easy undertaking to take over something like that, and it takes multiple departments to make it work good, and I commend the department for that, actually. I see that there's no funding for the next couple of years. Coming with that, the cost of fuel has risen up in our region. I'm just wondering if the Minister can shed some light on that, looking forward into 2019 and 2020 and the year after? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thanks for that. Four lines down to energy, there seems to be an increase from 2017-2018 to 2019-2020. Could the Minister give a little bit of information on that, please? Thank you.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for the invitation, as well. Mr. Speaker, pilots like that such the Minister spoke of could become something very useful across the territory, with the technology we have today. I have one more question about cultural safety, and the question is: how does the department's new action plan speak to regular engagement between the department and communities on new healthcare policies and initiatives? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 60)

It is good to hear that from the Minister. The needs specifically for communities seem different in different regions. The department has been trying to improve homecare service for a couple of years now, including $2.5 million in the 2017-2018 budget. Can the Minister tell us whether all these findings were used and how they were used?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a couple of constituents, Ms. Betty Elias from Tuktoyaktuk and my cousin Emily Kudlak from Ulukhaktok. Mr. Speaker, I spoke earlier a couple of times about language and how important it is. It is good to see that we have strong representatives from Nunakput. I would like to welcome both guests and everybody else. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I believe so. I am sorry for my confusion. I don't think I have anything else right now, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. I don't know if this is the section. I know Tuktoyaktuk, during the last year's business plans, during sitting last year, there was $100,000 allocated for the community of Tuktoyaktuk to possibly look at upgrading the current visitor centre that they have there now, which is a shack. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's good to hear, actually. Having that little bit of infrastructure could probably go a long way to serving the coastal communities, and even outside the territory, and outside the country. I appreciate the hard work that they're doing as a department to refine something that was working, but barely working by a shoestring. Other than that, I don't have really anything else for this section, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that response. Last year was a tough ice year, and Transport Canada forecasts 2019 to be an even worse year. It's good to hear that the Minister is looking at plans to serve the communities, and hopefully sooner, if we can. I know, during last year's sitting, I asked the Minister about plans for Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, and I'm just wondering, I know this is an O and M budget, but I'm just looking to see where they are on that aspect from a 30,000-foot view. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, 2019 is the International Year of Indigenous Languages. I would like to continue the discussion of how government can support our Indigenous languages across the territory.

Mr. Speaker, recently I looked at the analysis of federal funding for languages in Nunavut that broke it down to dollars per person. Based on their first language, the funding for a French student was around $420 per student, and for Inuktitut it was, ballpark, around $4.30. Mr. Speaker, this gap demonstrates that our government must do more to invest in Inuktitut.

Mr. Speaker, I wondered...