This is page numbers 117 - 133 of the Hansard for the 13th Assembly, 7th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was nunavut.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Member for Nunakput is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there nays? There are no nays. Mr. Steen, you have unanimous consent.

Vince Steen

Vince Steen Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you, my colleagues. If I may finish my statement, Mr. Speaker, rather than recognize the Members by name and their connections or relationship with me over the three or four years, has all been favourable from my point of view. I thank them equally, all of them, for allowing me to work with them on the Nunavut Caucus in this House. It was a pleasure to work with them, Mr. Speaker. It would perhaps be appropriate for me to mention that when I first approached the House, I asked the previous Member that was representing Nunakput, Ms. Cournoyea, as to some advice and guidance as to how to conduct myself in this House and she advised me that one of the main things I should do is never to cross Mr. Hamilton. So, I have made a point of that in the last three or four years. I have not crossed Mr. Hamilton and it has been to my benefit, I believe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Laughter

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Members' statements. Ms. Thompson.

Manitok Thompson Aivilik

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was just going to say thank you very much and goodbye, I am going home tomorrow. I would just like to mention a few people who have helped me here while I have been here. The first person I would like to say thank you to and I do respect this man very much, as I have a lot of respect for David Hamilton. When I became a Minister, I was given the portfolio of Municipal and Community Affairs and I wanted to do my best for my Premier, Mr. Don Morin. I do appreciate all the advice and support he gave me. He just treated me like a human being, I was not treated like the only female on Cabinet. I am still not the only female in Nunavut so there is a lot more of us out there, we just cannot get to the seat very fast.

I would like to thank everyone that I have worked with, the staff, Mr. Hamilton, who I have a lot of respect for and all the research staff, the staff in my office, my past secretaries, and my executive assistants.

It seems to be graduation day for me today. I thought I was going to last for two or three months on Cabinet, but I have lasted this long and I do appreciate all the support I have received from my western colleagues and my Nunavut colleagues, more from my western colleagues because I did not really get along with some of my Nunavut colleagues. I hope we do get along better in the future government.

Anyway, I would also like to say thank you to Mark Evaloarjuk, I really appreciated his friendship, his understanding, his wisdom during Nunavut Caucus meetings, in and outside of the meetings. I guess, at this time, I also would like to thank my husband whom I really appreciate a lot and I have a lot of respect for. I think he is the only husband I know of who would play the guitar for his wife because she is too tired from travelling and needs a good sleep.

Just recently, my 15-year-old son Trevor, last year I guess he had learned to play the guitar and because of my travelling, I have not kept up with what has been happening at my home. Tom was away from town, I went to bed, and I heard somebody playing music and I did not realize, I thought it was a CD playing and I went out and it was my son playing the guitar for me so that I could have a good sleep. For that, I appreciate my boys and my husband. Without their support, I think I would have surely failed. We need a support system as women and I appreciate their support.

I really do get tired of being told that I am the only aboriginal woman and also the only woman in Nunavut. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Member for Aivilik is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Ms. Thompson, you have unanimous consent.

Manitok Thompson Aivilik

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I was saying, I felt like a foreign object so many times when I am being told that I am the only woman in the Nunavut government, but the decision was made by the people of Nunavut. This is a decision that was made by the people and it has already been discussed and it should no longer be open for discussion.

I would like to thank every one of my staff who have been very supportive and loyal to me, I respect them highly. I have gotten to know a lot of them, which I have tried to do. I appreciate them for the last supper that they had for me, where I just started crying because I appreciated the time they had for me and the organizing that went into that supper. I would like to thank each and every one of the Nunavut Members who will be going to Nunavut with me and also to the western Members who voted me to be on Cabinet. Thank you for your confidence. I hope I have done you well and I hope I have served your communities well. I hope that I have served the aboriginal leaders here in the west well, I hope I have listened to them and understand their determination and aspirations.

I think we are lucky in a way that in Nunavut we have 80 percent aboriginal. I am very happy that we will be speaking our language in our Nunavut government. It is my language, I dream in it, I think in it, it is part of me and I will be so glad to speak without thinking. When you have to speak English, it is a little bit more difficult because you have to think before you speak so that you are not using the wrong words. When you are speaking your own language, it is like you are in paradise or something, it is a completely different world. I do not know what paradise is like, but it certainly feels like that to go home to Nunavut to speak in my own language, to live in my own culture, to govern the people with the language they understand, the majority of them. I do know it is going to be a public government, it is going to be the people's government. I do know that and everybody should feel welcome to our government.

There will be non-aboriginals in our government and they will be as welcomed as anybody else. We are partnerships, they are family to us, but when you speak your own language, it is a different experience.

Thank you so much, all the staff upstairs, all the staff downstairs. You have made my life a lot easier. I would like to say goodbye to all my friends that I have made here in Yellowknife, in the western Arctic. I would like to say thank you to my Mom and Dad, they believed in me, and the Ministers that I sat with, they believed in me also and I appreciate them. Whoever takes my seat here, all the luck. Thank you.

--Applause

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Members' statements. Mr. Morin.

Don Morin Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me pleasure today to thank Mr. David Hamilton, the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, for all his help in the past 12 years. Mr. Hamilton, some may say that the most powerful person in this House is Premier Antoine, some may say Mr. Speaker, some may say it is the Minister of Finance. But we all know, it is Mr. David Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton has been a counsellor to us and has helped us in many ways, over the past 12 years for myself.

I can remember in the fall of 1987 when I first came to the Legislative Assembly, we were meeting in the Yellowknife Inn in those days and they had a Caucus meeting. It was the first Caucus meeting I had to go to. I had to buy a buy a suit too, before that, I remember that because I did not have any. There were 24 Members sitting around that Caucus and I did not know very many of them. It was the first time I had ever seen them. I walked in there and I saw all these guys in their suits and all these people dressed up and we had to sit there and introduce ourselves. I was so nervous and I said, what did you get yourself into, Donny? What are you doing here with all these smart people. I found out very quickly that MLAs are human beings, Ministers are human beings, and they are normal people. They all have families, relatives, homes, and they have to work hard because they are public people. They have to work hard on behalf of their people and they are in the public eye all the time, but they are human beings.

So, Mr. Hamilton, you helped us many times. Twelve years in politics, you have good days and you have bad and with the Nunavut Members and all Members in this House, let me assure you, I have had more good days than bad days in politics.

Kelvin Ng. Mr. Ng is moving to Iqaluit. I remember when I first met Mr. Ng, he struck me as kind of a cheeky little guy, he kind of knew everything. This 13th Assembly, I was fortunate enough to serve as Premier and one of the jobs as Premier is to hand out portfolios. I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Member for Tu Nedhe is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Morin, you have unanimous consent.

Don Morin Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Members and thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of your jobs as the Premier is to appoint the Ministers to their portfolios and you do that by meeting with them and finding out what their interest is. Mr. Ng came in and I knew Mr. Ng fairly well by now, and he says, I would like to have Health and Social Services. I said, well, good thing he is asking for it because nobody else wants it. It is too tough. Maybe we should check it out and see if he needs a psychiatrist first. Mr. Ng has served the people well in the Western Territory, the Nunavut territory, and all the people in the Northwest Territories. He is a hard-working Minister, very straightforward, very honest and he never says no to a challenge. Mr. Ng, it is an honour to have served in this House with you and even though you are moving to Iqaluit, in Nunavut, you will always be good friends with myself and my family.

Manitok Thompson. I remember when Ms. Thompson first came to the House in a by-election. We taught her everything about bird dogs, she said, myself and Jeannie Marie Jewell.

--Laughter

I remember when Ms. Thompson first got elected as Minister. She came in and her attitude was basically, well I am not quite sure of how to be a Minister. I am not quite sure how to do the job, so do not give me anything hard. There is no easy jobs as Ministers in the government. Ms. Thompson, you took on a responsibility of community governments in the whole Northwest Territories. You did an excellent job. You always brought sanity to the issues. You are a very strong- willed person and you have always worked hard for your people. Keep up the good work. It was a pleasure working with you.

I first met Mr. Arlooktoo when he was a Member's assistant in the Legislative Assembly. I used to sit next to his father in the 11th Assembly, I believe it was. I got to know Mr. Arlooktoo very well over the years. He has always had my respect and Mr. Arlooktoo as well, when he first got elected. I knew what it meant coming in green because I had been there. I was very nervous. Mr. Arlooktoo served in different capacities of Ministers in the government representing the whole Northwest Territories. Mr. Arlooktoo, you did an excellent job, you have grown so much in the past few years and I am proud to say you are my friend.

Mr. Ningark and his wife Celine are very special people. Mr. Ningark always brought a calmness and sanity to this House. You always knew that Mr. Ningark will be fair with everyone. Mr. Ningark, I thank you for working with you for the past many years. I wish you the best in your retirement. I know you have done a good job to represent your people and I thank you for your friendship.

I met Mr. Evaloarjuk and Mr. Barnabas in this Assembly. Mr. Evaloarjuk, I have not had the opportunity to get to know you very well, but I am impressed from what I have seen. The same as yourself, Mr. Barnabas, I know you will do a good job as the Speaker of the new Nunavut government. Keep up the good work. You are both very honourable people and it was a pleasure to have served with you.

What can you say about Mr. Picco. Mr. Picco is a great guy. Some may think, the public perception may have been that he was hammering at people or doing things, but we always got a kick out of him, he was so much fun. He is a good guy and his heart is in the right place. He is always thinking of the social issues and I hope him the best of luck as Minister of Health and Social Services in the Nunavut government. Good job for Mr. Picco and it was a pleasure serving him here with Mr. Picco.

I hope Mr. Enuaraq the best. Once again, a new Member, I never had an opportunity to know him well, but I did enjoy working with him.

I met Mr. O'Brien when he worked with the Housing Corporation. I never got to know Mr. O'Brien that well, because we have only worked for three short years together, but it has been a pleasure working with you and I hope you the best in the Nunavut government.

Mr. Todd is going to be hanging around for awhile. It has been a pleasure. I am going to say something about Mr. Todd at a later date. I am going to save him for last. I have worked very close with Mr. Todd over the years. Next week in the Legislative Assembly I will say goodbye to Mr. Todd.

Mr. Speaker, I hope I never missed anyone, but it has been a pleasure working with the Nunavut Caucus in this Legislative Assembly. Mr. Dent mentioned that the level of debate, the attitude in debate, just the atmosphere in this House will probably change when you guys go to Nunavut. I agree with him, it will probably change. I have appreciated, over the past 12 years, working with all the Nunavut Members. I know Mr. Pudluk, is not a Member here today, he is retired. He was my seatmate for four years in the Legislative Assembly. Mr. Pudluk, if you are listening, you taught me lots, thank you for your guidance and support. I would like to thank you all. I hope everyone the best of luck with the Nunavut government and I hope that we will see each other again. With that, mahsi cho.

--Applause

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Members' statements. Mr. Kakfwi.

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to say a few words as well about some of the Members from Nunavut that are still with us. I wanted to point out something I learned when I was elected in 1987 and the Member from Lake Harbour as it was called at the time was Mr. Arlooktoo, Sr. He was speaking in Inuktitut, I leaned over to Mr. Wray and asked him what the Member was asking about. Mr. Wray leaned over and he said Mr. Arlooktoo, Sr. is asking about a boulder, a huge boulder that was at the end of the runway at Lake Harbour. He said there is no way he is going to relent unless we do something about it. I remember that. I was just checking with Mr. Arlooktoo, Jr. about that issue and it was a fact, Mr. Arlooktoo, Sr. decided to focus on that issue until there was some resolution to it. Mr. Arlooktoo, Jr. just reminded me that in fact we had to dynamite that boulder in order to bring satisfaction to Mr. Arlooktoo, Sr. who focused on something that was an everyday concern for his constituents as well as himself. I raised that because one of the things that I came to this Legislature with is of course profound passion and interest in political and constitutional issues as well as aboriginal issues. I was always struck with the different approach that the Inuit took to resolving issues. I wanted to applaud that today. Mr. Speaker, I would ask for unanimous consent to finish my statement.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Member for Sahtu seeks unanimous consent to conclude the statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Kakfwi, you have unanimous consent.

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you. I just wanted to take time to applaud and recognize the incredible leadership that the Inuit have shown, not only to their own constituents, but to all aboriginal people across this country and across the world for that matter. They have demonstrated an incredible level of leadership that I think we should all recognize over the next few days. They demonstrated a vision and a determination and purpose that I do not know that we will ever see demonstrated again at that scale in this country for some time. I would like to applaud the way in which they managed their political and constitutional issues. In 1981, the Inuit leaders asked the Dene and Metis to vote in support of the concept of division and we did that.

Since 1981, they have been working with a single purpose of resolving all outstanding issues in the area of the land claims.

Since 1981, they settled their claim, resolved a boundary, the single longest boundary in the world I believe, through political agreement. They have used their time since 1981 to push their agenda for a Nunavut government through to federal legislation which will be enacted, and we will see the creation of a Nunavut government next week on April 1st. I want to recognize again the incredible leadership that the Inuit have shown since 1981 and getting their agenda done. Clearly articulating what it is they wanted to do and being very result oriented and practical about what it is they wanted to do, what it was they needed in being able to achieve it. They have managed to settle a single land claim for their entire territory. They have been able to achieve a government for themselves which they will use for the betterment of their people for some years to come. People like Mr. Amagoalik, Mr. Kusugak, Mr. Eetoolook, some of the leaders that I think, elected Members of the Nunavut Legislature will need to build a strong working relationship. That again is going to be the key to seeing a good strong future for the people of Nunavut. Thank you very much. Mahsi.

--Applause

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Members' statements. Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to start by sending greetings back to my wife and children.

--Applause

I thought I would do that, Mr. Speaker, one last time with my Nunavut colleagues and I hope that one of them will take up that practice in their new Nunavut Legislature. It has definitely been a pleasure to work with all of my Nunavut colleagues. When I first came here, many people asked me what I was going to do and I said I came down here with my back to the wall and eyes and ears open. It has not been without the help of my Nunavut colleagues that steered me in the direction and as I watched and learned to see how they operated and it worked out really well. There are a lot of different things I could refer to, but I think on the lighter side of things, I will remember a few things.

One of the occasions was in this Assembly was when Mr. Todd was responding to my question and said he would like to look me in the eye and deal with the issue and I offered him a stool to stand on. It was one of my lighter moments.

One of the other things I will remember and I must thank Mr. Ng for, is his companionship, the early morning coffees we had. He tried to teach me the game of golf. I have to say I am better at hockey than golf, and I had the opportunity to share a hockey game with him with the Edmonton Oilers Alumni up in Cambridge Bay. I can say Mr. Ng is a better golfer than he is a hockey player.

As well, Mr. Speaker, I have had an opportunity to share time in this Assembly with Ms. Thompson, who has been a fine example of clear commitment to her people and to the issues she represents at the right times in this House and I always wondered how. I think it was her connection with the one she reaches out to on a daily basis. She would send me a note and give me encouragement of how to carry myself and discuss things in this House.

I look at John Ningark. Mr. Speaker, as I do that I request unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Member for Inuvik is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Roland, you have unanimous consent to conclude your statement.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik

Thank you, honourable colleagues. John Ningark. When I first sat down, on many occasions in the social programs committee, when things got a little carried away or twisted, he would quietly speak up and talk to us and refer us back to what we were here for, the people, and how things should go and how they operated, especially with so many new Members. I thank him for that. I know he will still be a positive role model in his community and region.

Mr. Speaker, today the sun will set on this Assembly as we know it but tomorrow the sun will rise once again. It will rise both over the east and the west. It will rise again over the people as we know them. We all go to work, maybe in different shoes and a different location, but we go to work knowing the commitment we have to the people and those we serve. Those in Nunavut, when they sit down for the first time around their table, they will have to face the responsibilities as they have here, but I am sure they will do a good job for their people as they have done for the whole territories as we know it.

Thank you for the time to serve with you as the 13th Assembly. I have got one thing to say though, before I close. It was with a trip I shared with Mr. Arlooktoo. We travelled to Russia, my only trip out of the country. After that, I think I will stay close to home.

--Laughter

Mr. Arlooktoo, we travelled together on our first trip across the sea from Anchorage, Alaska to Vladvostok which was the first place we had a real eye-opener to the services we were going to come to expect in our journey across Russia. It was an eye-opener and it definitely let me know that what we have here in the north, in Nunavut, and in the Western Territory, is a very good system and the people are well served.

On one occasion, we were flying over to Prudhoe Bay and the plane door did not quite shut properly. He was sitting up front because he was the Minister and I was the ordinary MLA, I sat in the back. He was reading his book and as he leaned to the door to rest, it was a flight of over an hour, the door popped open. I reached forward and grabbed him, tapped his shoulder, and said, do not do that, the door is open.

--Laughter

Some reminded me as we relayed that story that I missed my opportunity at that time to become a Minister of this Cabinet.

--Laughter

Mr. Arlooktoo took it quite well and we survived our journey. I still need to look at some of the pictures he took at some of the facilities they have in Russia so we can reminisce a little bit before he leaves this Assembly as well. Again, thank you for your companionship, your guidance and your work and I look forward to, I am sure, we will run across each other's trails once more on behalf of the people we serve. I look forward to seeing how you operate and the challenges and how you deal with them. As well, I will keep you in my prayers as to the direction you get and where you go. I hope that you will keep me in yours. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Members' statements. Mr. Evaloarjuk.

Mark Evaloarjuk Amittuq

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not have much to say but I would like to say farewell to my colleagues as well as to thank them for having been their colleague. Even though I might forget the names of some of the people, it is not that I do not wish them the best whether you are aboriginal, Inuk, Indian, woman or a man, all of you, I would like to thank all of you and I will say farewell to you. Also, our clerk, Mr. Hamilton, I called Davidee. We owe Mr. Hamilton, I have read his letters as well as the songs that he wrote and he was a very capable leader. He was even able to hit Goliath, a giant, that is the story we have heard many times and he is just as capable as that David and I would like to thank him very much.

Also our colleagues too, I would like to thank them as well, their wives, husbands and children. Their support is the only reason we are capable of doing our jobs and also our constituents as well as my children and my wife have supported me. That is the reason why I am capable of holding this position so I would like to thank them, as well, if I can remember correctly, I would like to thank all the people that we have worked with, Joe Arlooktook, Ipeelie Kilabuk, former MLAs James Arreak, as well as Moses Appaqaq and all those other MLAs that were from the western Arctic. I remember especially John Steen, Vince Steen's older brother, I remember him well. Also I would like to say farewell to him. Any time we will be able to meet one another in the future, although it is difficult to predict the future, I can say, I am pleased at times and I am sort of sad at times that we have to deal with some difficult issues for our constituencies.

Also our relatives who have died during the years we have been meeting here in the Legislative Assembly in our absence. Also their relatives, there are many things that we are capable of handling, with the help of God, as I have read in the Bible, I would like to thank the people who were capable of dealing with their situation and being able to deal with their grieving and been able to survive through the hardships.

I would like to also thank everyone from the western Arctic who has welcomed us with open hands. I would also like to say that it is very difficult to work on the division procedures, we had to travel through our communities to get their support for the division of the Northwest Territories. Now it is going to be a reality soon. I would like to thank everyone from the Northwest Territories as well. Thank you.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Just before Mr. Evaloarjuk came into the House, we did a presentation and we have a name tag for Mr. Evaloarjuk. On behalf of all the Members from the west and from Nunavut, I want to present Mr. Evaloarjuk with this name tag and I wish him all the best too.

--Applause

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Continuing with the orders of the day. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Kakfwi.

Return To Question 27-13(7): New Venture Capital Program
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions

Page 130

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, this is a response to a question asked by Mr. Picco on March 23, 1999. The Northwest Territories Risk Capital Tax Credit Program allows taxpayers to qualify for tax credits by investing, either directly or indirectly in corporations that carry on business in the Territories, and that qualify as an "eligible business". Eligible businesses are active, privately held Canadian taxable corporations that are based in the Territories and have the majority of their staff and assets located in the Northwest Territories.

The Department of Finance has contracted Carron Business Services Ltd. of Yellowknife to administer this program. Carron's main focus will be to review business applications to ensure they qualify for the program and to provide information to the public. Carron Business Services Ltd. can be contacted by phone at (867) 873-9804 or fax (867) 920-4817 or they can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Return To Question 27-13(7): New Venture Capital Program
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions

Page 130

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Ningark.

Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

March 24th, 1999

Page 130

John Ningark Natilikmiot

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize my replacement. I am being replaced not because I am worn out or broken,

--Laughter

--Laughter

Mr. Uriash Puqiqnak.

--Applause