Nunavut MLAs meet on language, privacy reports

The Standing Committee on Oversight of Government Operations and Public Accounts is holding hearings April 16 to 18 in Iqaluit to discuss the most recent annual reports of the languages commissioner and the privacy commissioner. (FILE PHOTO)

Regular members of Nunavut’s legislative assembly will hold hearings April 16 to 18 in Iqaluit to discuss the most recent annual reports of the languages commissioner and the privacy commissioner.

The committee hearings of the Standing Committee on Oversight of Government Operations and Public Accounts, which are open to the public, will take place in the legislative assembly’s Nanuq committee room.

The MLAs say they want the Government of Nunavut to “publicly account” for its actions to their recommendations and to those of the privacy commissioner’s recommendations “concerning the important issues of access to information and protection of privacy,” said Louis Tapardjuk, standing committee co-chairperson, in recent news release.

GN officials from the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs will appear before the committee April 18 at 1:30 p.m.

“For the past several years, the government has tabled formal responses to the reports of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Standing Committee itself,” Tapardjuk said.

Recently, the GN responded to privacy commissioner Elaine Keenan Bengts’ 2011-12 annual report, tabled last October in the Nunavut legislature, and some of its concerns.

Those included concerns about a surveillance project that gathers health information about all Nunavut mothers and babies from before birth up to age five, which the report found could be highly invasive of personal privacy.

In her response, Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak said “the use of personal information for this project did receive the proper authorization.”

Languages Commissioner Sandra Inutiq has also been invited to appear before the committee April 16 1:30 p.m.

Keenan Bengts will appear before the committee April 18 at 9 a.m.

Quttiktuq MLA Ron Elliott, chairperson of the committee, said the committee is looking forward to the first appearance of Inutiq, especially after the “coming into force” of the Official Languages Act.

“In addition to accounting for the status of her office’s ongoing initiatives, this appearance will provide the Languages Commissioner with an opportunity to describe her plans for the coming fiscal year,” he said in the news release.

MLA’s have previously said that they want to see more from the language commissioner.

The language commissioner is an officer of the legislative assembly, and reports directly to MLAs, while the privacy commissioner plays a key role in helping to ensure that the rights of Nunavummiut in the areas of access to information and protection of privacy are respected, said Moses Aupaluktuq, Baker Lake MLA.

The hearings will be televised on local cable channels.

Copies of the annual reports of the Languages Commissioner and the Information and Privacy Commissioner are available from the Office of the Legislative Assembly.

Copies of prior year’s responses by the GN Standing Committee may be downloaded from the Legislative Assembly’s website.