IQALUIT
The people of Qikiqtarjuaq and Clyde River sent Samuel Nuqingaq to the legislature to represent them as the MLA for Uqqummiut, but Oct. 24, his fellow legislators sent him home.

Seen here sitting in the legislature Oct. 21, Uqqummiut MLA Samuel Nuqingaq did not show up for the rest of the week. The legislature expelled him on Oct. 24. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo

"I move, seconded by the honourable member for Arviat South, that Mr. Samuel Nuqingaq, member for Uqqummiut, be immediately expelled from the legislative assembly and that the member's seat be declared vacant," Justice Minister Paul Okalik stated in his motion Oct. 24.

The motion noted Parliamentary privilege, which allows the legislature to discipline its members, which includes the right to suspend or expel a member.

"The member ... has been disciplined by the legislative assembly on a number of occasions for his unacceptable conduct," Okalik's motion read, "including persistent absences from sittings of the house and meetings of its committees and caucuses without reasonable explanation."

Nuqingaq missed the first week of orientation for new members last year, and was suspended March 6. Later it was revealed that he faced criminal charges of assault and unlawfully entering a dwelling with intent to commit an indictable offence. He returns to court to face those charges this week.

The legislature extended the suspension to July 16, and in the interim, Nuqingaq spent 60 days receiving counselling at a residential treatment facility for substance abuse.

He showed up on Oct. 21 for the first day of the fall session and was assigned to several committees. But he didn't attend scheduled sittings on Oct. 22 or Oct. 23 and, on Oct. 24, he was expelled.

Elected in 2013, the Qikiqtarjuaq resident beat Clyde River's Niore Iqalukjuak. The two were tied on election night, but a judicial recount found Nuqingaq had won by two votes. He was the first Nunavut MLA from Qikiqtarjuaq. His historic win was welcomed in the community at the time.

"I never made any election promises," he told Nunavut News/North at the time. "If I made promises just to be elected and didn't keep those promises, that would make me unreliable."

A byelection to replace Nuqingaq is expected.

Fuel prices won't increase

Fuel prices will not increase this year, Community and Government Services Minister Tom Sammurtok told legislators Oct. 21.

Sammurtok credited stable supply prices, operational efficiencies and cost-saving measures for enabling the government to keep prices stable.

"We find that with the newer tanks and the way the distribution system is set up now, we have been able to keep the costs down in acquiring and distribution of fuel right across Nunavut," he said.

Plus, the government is always on the lookout for ways to get the best deal.

"When we go out and buy the fuel, we try and get it at the most economical price. Also, we are providing training to our fuel contractors to ensure that things are operating most cost effectively and efficiently in all of our communities. We find that with the newer fuel trucks, the discharging and distribution system is a lot more efficient."

Many communities have better fuel pumps now, he said, limiting loss. The lack of an increase comes despite increasing costs to maintain and upgrade infrastructure and fuel distribution systems, he said.

Homeowner fuel rebate underused

Just over half of the number of homeowners expected to take advantage of a heating fuel rebate actually did, Finance Minister Keith Peterson told the legislature Oct. 21.

"There were payments to over 1,200 households," Peterson said, noting about 2,000 were expected to take up the offer.

The total bill for the program comes in at around $600,000, or an average of $500 per house.

"As we are all aware in here, $600,000 sounds like a lot of money," said Iqaluit-Tasiluk MLA George Hickes. "But in the overall government expenditures, it's not really that much. I can state from the feedback that I've gotten from a number of constituents that that amount that was allocated was very greatly appreciated."

Hickes asked if the program would return this year. Peterson said the cabinet hasn't discussed it yet.

"It appears to be a mild winter in Iqaluit so far," he said. "I can't say the same about Cambridge Bay or the barge that has been frozen out in Cambridge Bay. Ice has been on the bay for three or four weeks. We will review it and see if our fiscal parameters allow it."

Angnakak wants beer and wine plebiscite

Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu MLA Pat Angnakak called on the government Oct. 21 to hold a plebiscite to determine if the residents of Iqaluit want a beer and wine store in the capital.

Angnakak said the plebiscite should be held in the first six months of 2015.

Finance Minister Keith Peterson responded that his department is committed to doing extensive consultations.

"This is a very important decision that we will have to make once," Peterson said. "When all the information is provided to us at that time, I will discuss with my colleagues."

That was a non-response for Angnakak, who asked her question again.

"Yes, I did hear the question quite well and I understood it," Peterson responded. "But as the member knows, it is very difficult to just stand up and say yes or no. There is a lot of work that has to be done into this and we have not completed that work. It is too early for me to say yes or no."

He said his department is working with Elections Nunavut to determine the logistics of a plebiscite, and that if consultations, which are expected to wrap next month, suggest a plebiscite is a good idea, it could happen within six months of making that call.

Angnakak asserted her belief that support for the project needs to be clear.

"It is essential that the choice we make is one that is based on the will of the people," she said. "Some constituents agree that allowing the retail sale of beer and wine could be an effective way to fight bootlegging, reduce the harm caused by binge drinking of hard liquor, and address the concerns of responsible social drinkers.

"Other constituents believe that the scale of substance abuse in the territory and the current lack of resources to address substance abuse, means that liberalizing access to alcohol would be irresponsible."

She said other options are available to reduce substance abuse and bootlegging, such as government abuse prevention programs and civil forfeiture legislation for bootleggers.

Nurses impacted by outages

Nurses in Pond Inlet have had to sleep overnight at the community health centre at times, Tununiq MLA Joe Enook told the legislature Oct. 22, because telecommunications outages have left residents unable to contact the health centre at times.

The problem has been ongoing for more than two years, Enook said, and "has had a serious impact on the delivery of essential and emergency services to my constituents."

Community and Government Services Minister Tom Sammurtok said other hamlets are seeing such outages.

"Pond Inlet is not the only community in that situation. Other communities also have the same problem," Sammurtok said. "We have been trying to communicate with Northwestel using the CRTC and they have told us that they will be updating their equipment. However, their plans don't go far enough and we have been telling them to fix it better."

"Can you tell me that I should not be worried anymore?" Enook asked. "If we lost all the telecommunications, do you have a contingency plan in place?"

Sammurtok replied that the RCMP has a separate phone system in case the community needs assistance.