MLAs set 5 priorities during caucus retreat
Elders, education, health, housing and economy identified as legislature’s focus
Nunavut’s MLAs, seen in this file photo from November’s swearing-in ceremony, set five priorities, including an elder-care strategy and commitment to mental health supports, during a caucus retreat in Cambridge Bay last week. (File photo by Mélanie Ritchot)
Nunavut’s elected officials have charted a course for the sixth legislative assembly.
MLAs identified what they’re describing as five “core priorities” to focus on when the legislature gets down to business in the new year, according to a news release issued by the clerk of the legislative assembly, John Quirke, on Monday.
They include a comprehensive elder care strategy, reinvesting in education, enhanced health, mental health and addiction services, housing, and economic diversification.
Those priorities will be included in the government’s formal mandate statement, which Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok will table in the legislature in March.
The priorities were set during last week’s MLA retreat in Cambridge Bay. Recently elected MLA Pam Gross, who was the hamlet’s mayor before winning a seat in October’s territorial election, hosted her new colleagues.
The retreat included what Akeeagok called “an historic dialogue” between MLAs and leaders of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and other regional Inuit organizations.
In early January, the cabinet will hold another retreat to discuss measures they can take to meet the priorities set by all the MLAs. The draft mandate statement will be shared with the full caucus, as well as with NTI, in early February before it is finalized, the news release states.
The legislature resumes sitting on Feb. 21.
I can’t wait to hear more about the “historic dialogue” between NTI and the GN…
Nunatsiaq, will you fill us in?
Here’s the summary:
MLA #1: “How will we inefficiently spend the billions that Ottawa gives us this fiscal year?”
MLA #2: “Maybe we can hand out more hampers and gift cards? Oh, and by the way, my cousin needs a job, he’s not qualified in any way but, maybe he can be director of whatever? His work attendance record sucks but, that’s OK, right?”
MLA #3: “Sounds like a plan and if we blow all the money and get nowhere, we’ll just blame the qallunaats for our problems and tell people that Ottawa doesn’t care about us and never gives us enough money.”
The end.
Trust me when I say that the incompetence I have see in Nunavut is far from something anyone planned.
Everyday I labour under the soul destroying tyranny of deep ignorance and stunning incompetence.
You’re not alone.
I want to be one of those relatives… MLA’s one of you adopt me please!
Walk into any GN office and look around. You’ll see two groups of workers: One group of people working; another group of people sitting around socializing, eating snacks and having coffee. One group has a very good attendance; the other is likely absent 1 or 2 days a week for no reason. One group works 7.5 hours a day; the other might work a half-hour a day, but with zero oversight or auditing, they have perfect attendance on paper.
Both these groups are likely paid the same. Glorified welfare.
It’s when the glorified welfare recipients become managers that life wears on you.
Life wears also on hard working managers when they have to try and get productivity out of those glorified welfare recipients. One might ask why be a manager when you can get close to the same pay, with less responsibility and less work?
Isn’t it just a little ironic that Ministers made themselves exempt from isolation hubs in the past, but attend retreats such as this?
My grandson’s grade7 class could have come up with this in less time, and without a trip across the territory.
This comment resonates loudly.
Another retreat planned in January, meanwhile government staff have been working tirelessly and understaffed since ransomware (2019), and then through the pandemic. Not to mention without a CBA.
This is exactly true. Tens of thousands in travel costs and a week of salaries for these MLAs and their staff to come up with nothing new. Don’t get me wrong, they’re good priorities, but they’re good priorities for every government everywhere.
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By the way for those keeping score, this mandate:
-comprehensive elder care strategy
-reinvesting in education
-enhanced health, mental health and addiction services
-housing, and
-economic diversification.
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Found in the last mandate, Turaaqtavut:
-value elders, meet their needs for care in territory
-provide education and training that prepares children, youth, and adults for positive contributions to society
-enhance health care services available in the territory, improve the outcomes of mental health, addictions, and family counselling
-safe and affordable housing
-diversifying and improving economic opportunities
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And found in the mandate before that, Sivumut Abluqta:
-more housing options and alternatives for a growing elder population
-self-reliance and optimism through education and training
-ensure clinical expertise and facilities are available to Nunavummiut, address mental illness, addictions and domestic violence
-ensure more affordable housing options and alternatives
are available to meet people’s varied needs
-economic growth through responsible development across all sectors
Did the same consultants “facilitate” all three Mandate development meetings? Could that explain why they all came out virtually identical?
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Full disclosure – I used to work as a facilitator.
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Facilitators can be very helpful when people have differing views about what to do and how to accomplish their objectives. But when people don’t know what they want to accomplish, or if they have no idea how to accomplish their objectives, the facilitation techniques don’t work. Then there is a strong tendancy for the Facilitator to become the Leader, even if the Facilitator also has no clue how any of the ideas/wishes could be achieved. This becomes necessary to “salvage” the meeting.
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Clients don’t like to hear “I’m here to help you come to a concensus. I’m not here to do your work for you. I’m a process specialist, not a subject matter specialist.” Meetings tend to get messy after such statements and bills tend to not get paid. That’s why facilitators sometimes exercise “creative leadership”.
The reason that each government mandate has been so similar is because the issues remain priorities. Imagine if housing or education weren’t on the list! Then what would we say? “Those idiots forgot the most obvious priorities!”
Those aren’t the bells of Christmas ringing. They are the alarm bells of a 4 alarm fire.
They are being heard loudly at the federal governments offices in Ottawa that send those billions of dollars. Into GN`s accounts to be wasted.
Instead of unnecessarily traveling during a pandemic, wasting thousands on travel costs and per diems, leaving members without representation with long holidays looming, and neglecting regular office work and duties – couldn’t there have been a useless, overplayed Microsoft Teams meeting to discuss these 5 bullet points that people have been suggesting since Nunavut’s conception? Asking for a friend
Just after mandating vaccine passports in Nunavut and locking people out of community safe spaces (including minors), claiming that these measures are for the safety of the community, these people took unnecessary risk to have their annual circle jerk before Christmas.
You are not giving this group of Ministers enough credit. Retreat, Christmas, Retreat, Omicron shut down which equals “working” from home, summer, fall holidays to travel exempt from restrictions, 2023.
Well planned Gov… well planned.
I know for a fact :
1- we voted our MLA in
2- he said he can learn
3- we hoped he knew something when we voted him in
4- we haven’t heard anything fresh from him so far.
5- how did we ever make a big mistake
6- nothing will change
Things will change if we go by their work history.. Nunavut will move backwards within Canada.
But hey JT got a fish from a young Cam Bay artist….