Work done, Nunavut MLAs head home

Missed seeing the MLAs in October? Nunavut’s legislative assembly will reconvene Feb. 21, 2012. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Nunavut’s MLAs created new electoral boundaries, scrapped plans for a recreational complex, and called for more federal subsidies for the trade of country food before the fall session of the legislative assembly wrapped up Oct. 31.

The assembly welcomed an almost full house this session – minus absent Akulliq MLA John Ningark, but with the addition of three new members from a September by-election; Pangnirtung MLA Hezakiah Oshutapik, Tununiq MLA Joe Enook and Iqaluit West MLA Monica Ell.

The assembly stayed in session for nine days, while members spent an extra day in Nutrition North Canada hearings, grilling program officials.

During the fall session, MLAs passed eight bills, including:

• Bill 22, an Act Respecting Constituencies of Nunavut, which approves new electoral boundaries for the territory. The plan, produced earlier this year by the Nunavut Electoral Boundaries Commission, the number of members will rise from 19 to 22 in time for the next territorial election.

• Bill 15, the Appropriation Capital Act, where MLAs approved $94,499,000 for projects identified under the capital budget for 2012-2013.

The money goes to pay for dozens of projects, from communications upgrades at the legislative assembly to major infrastructure projects, like the renovation of an old Iqaluit building into a new health facility.

Nunavut’s health and social services department will put $100,000 towards transforming a vacant 45-bed building, the former Taammativvik patient boarding home, near Inuksuk High School into a larger mental health facility.

But the cash-strapped Government of Nunavut came short on approving money for two much-anticipated projects: a heritage and performing arts centre for Iqaluit and a mine training centre for Cambridge Bay.

And the capital budget also came up $500,000 lighter when MLAs voted to delete that amount earmarked for the planning of a new recreation complex in Rankin Inlet.

In one of the session’s more tense moments, Nunalik MLA Johnny Ningeongan introduced a motion to delete $500,000 from the department of Community and Government Services budget Oct. 19.

That’s after MLAs discovered that the scope of Rankin Inlet’s project had gone from a basic arena to a complex that would house a games arena, curling rink, convention area and an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

• Bill 23, which amends the Public Colleges Act to allow Nunavut Arctic College to grant university degrees and applied bachelor degrees — an update to the act since Nunavut was established as its own territory. The name of the act is changed to the Nunavut Arctic College Act.

• Bill 16, the Annual Reporting Validation (liquor licensing board) Act, which accepts that annual reports of the Nunavut Liquor Licensing Board for certain years to have been submitted.

That’s because until November 2004, the government of the Northwest Territories was contracted to operate the Nunavut Liquor Commission and support the Nunavut Liquor Licensing Board – including the delivery of its annual report.

But neither the governments of the Northwest Territories nor Nunavut have been able to “retrieve relevant information concerning the Nunavut Liquor Licensing Board.”

So the act says that annual reports from 1999 to 2004 “are deemed to have been validly submitted by the Nunavut Liquor Licensing Board and tabled before the legislative assembly in accordance with section 9 of the Liquor Act.”

• Bill 17, Write-off of Debts Act 2011-2012. Bill 17, which writes off the debts of Nunavut Arctic College in the amount of $199,903 for training programs provided through the Kivalliq Partners in Development.

But MLAs didn’t get around to passing Bill 19, the Family Support Orders Enforcement Act.

That long-awaited act would establish a family support office in Nunavut, administered by a family support manager, while laying out measures to collect and enforce payment of support orders.

The bill would replace the former Maintenance Orders Enforcement Act.

MLAs will reconvene again in Iqaluit for the legislative assembly’s winter session Feb. 21, 2012.