IQALUIT - Hunter Tootoo told the legislative assembly on March 8 the food allowance under the social assistance program will increase 15 per cent while the allowance for clothing will increase by more than 35 per cent to $50 per month per eligible recipient.

He added the regular and seasonal clothing allowances will be combined into a single benefit.

This is the first food allowance increase since 2005 and the first clothing allowance raise since before Nunavut became a territory. Tootoo said the hikes were made possible due to an increase of $3 million to the social assistance program.

"Currently, 90 per cent of the total social assistance expenditures per month are used to provide benefits for food," stated Tootoo. "Assisting individuals and families with resources to meet a basic standard of living that includes a healthy diet is essential, especially for children."

Char in demand

Two fish plants have difficulty keeping up with the demand in Arctic char, to a point they are considering getting the fish from other communities, said the Nunavut Environment Minister on Feb. 23.

Daniel Shewchuk said the plants in Pangnirtung and Rankin Inlet are looking to obtain Arctic char from Iglulik, Repulse Bay, Qikiqtarjuaq and other communities. The increased demand for the fish stems from Nunavut's new Char Marketing Strategy, he added.

"This expansion will be needed in order to supply char to markets far and wide, including some of the most exclusive restaurants in the United States," stated Shewchuk.

He also related results of the 2010 fishery, showing positive results for turbot and shrimp.

"High catch rates and good prices helped us land our full 9,350 tonne quota of turbot this year, which generated nearly $40 million in revenue," stated Shewchuk at the legislature on Feb. 23.

Fuel rebate program in limbo

The Homeowner Fuel Rebate Program, where homeowners would get a one-time payment of $500 to help offset the rising costs of fuel and energy, is in limbo as Finance Minister Keith Peterson is pondering its future.

Peterson stated his department will take a closer look at funding the program for this year, a day after he told the legislature the program would be unavailable this year.

"We're looking very closely at the program to see if there is a way that we can consider funding it again this year," Peterson told the legislature on March 3.

As of March 8, his department had not made a decision. Peterson had stated the program would be unavailable this year because it was deemed unnecessary.

"It's one of those programs that in certain years, if we have funding available and the weather is unseasonably cold, it could be available but this year, it's unavailable," he stated at the legislature on March 2.

Peterson said the program costs the GN between $600,00 and $700,00 and over 1,000 homeowners applied for it in 2010.

Insurance fund abolished

With no one applying to the territorial outfitters liability insurance fund and with available alternatives, the Nunavut government repealed the act creating it on Feb 25.

With the Nunavut Outfitter Liability Protection Fund Act abolished, some monies from the $3.8 million fund will go towards poverty reduction, including community freezers, stated Minister of Economic Development and Transportation Peter Taptuna at the legislature on March 7.

He added he also anticipates some $1.3 million will go to the department of environment, $260,000 will go to the tourism and cultural industries, $320,000 going into the regional socio-economic monitoring committees and $300,000 for the Nunavut Cultural Resource Inventory.

"There have been no applications and no claims on the funds since its creation two years ago," stated Keith Peterson at the legislature on Feb. 23.

Outfitters across the territory can contact Nunavut Tourism to purchase or buy into the insurance policy, a system Peter Taptuna said is "more affordable and more user-friendly."

Seal purchase program continues

The territorial government will continue its sealskin purchasing program, even with a declined international market for seal skins due to the European Union's ban on seal products, Nunavut's environment minister stated at the legislative assembly on March 7.

That program is costing the territorial government about $500,000 a year, stated Shewchuk at the legislature.

The territorial government pays hunters on average $50 per sealskin, Shewchuk stated at the legislature on Feb. 24.

"Even though we are not selling those furs in the auction for that price, we are still providing that money to the hunter," he added. "So in ... essence, it has not (affected) the hunter in any way right now."

Nunavut furs and sealskins grossed $386,561 at the early-January Fur Harvesters Auction in North Bay, Ont., while polar bear and Arctic fox pelts sold "particularly well," stated Shewchuk at the legislative assembly on March 7.

With 1,431 sealskins sold at the auction, Shewchuk stated it indicates "some level of interest" for the territory's product.

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