Mat'na. Thank you for having me.
I understand that we have some time limitations. I had provided a couple of pages of briefing notes, so I'll try to go through them as quickly as I can.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity, first and foremost, to speak at this committee. My name is Mumilaaq Qaqqaq. I'm the member of Parliament for Nunavut. Nunavut is Canada's youngest territory, and I'm proud to be the youngest person elected in the riding, and one of the youngest voices in this Parliament as well. Nunavut is also the largest electoral district in the world, with a population of approximately 39,000.
I was raised in Baker Lake, a growing community of 2,000. I now live in the capital of the territory, Iqaluit, which has a population of about 8,000. All 25 communities in the riding are fly-in and fly-out, with no roads to connect families and people across communities. Approximately 85% of my constituents are Inuk, or Inuit.
I am currently speaking to everybody here on the committee from Ottawa. I can't confidently say I could participate in a virtual Parliament or a virtual committee if I were actually in my riding. Connectivity is essential.
Unfortunately, our territory has the highest suicide rate per capita in Canada. This has tragically been the case for years. I grew up with this being perceived as our normal, which is wrong. I have lost countless friends and family to suicide. Everyone in the territory is, in some way, touched by suicide. This reflects the social determinants for individuals in the territory.
One-third of my constituents live in overcrowded homes. We also know that seven out of 10 children go to school hungry in Nunavut. There are communities that continue to see boil water advisories and limited access to clean drinking water. We have some of the highest living costs in the country. Along with investments in housing, building basic infrastructure is a must in the territory. Connectivity is essential.
Accessing critical and often life-saving information is frequently a challenge in Nunavut. Providing individuals with key information in their mother tongue, Inuktut, can be life-saving. In 2016, 23,225—approximately 65% of the population—reported Inuktut as their mother tongue.
I was glad to see during the previous parliamentary session an announcement that talked about a commitment of $42 million over the next five years to support Inuktut language initiatives. This was a collaboration among the Government of Canada, the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, the territorial advocacy organization.
Although the intentions of this agreement are good, I face many barriers as a member of Parliament in providing needed translation to my constituents. For example, I would need to translate all my work five times to make sure information is easily available to everyone. Guiding constituents to the federal services they need is a similar obstacle. Providing translation in Inuktut at the federal level for my constituency and other Inuit Nunangat communities would be nothing but beneficial for everyone. Connectivity is essential.
As we saw during yesterday's committee, even in some of the most prosperous parts of the country, technical limitations are impacting parliamentarians' ability to do their work. I thought it was important for everyone here at the committee today to get a sense of the Internet speeds here in Ottawa compared to communities in Nunavut. I reached out to some constituents and asked for their Mbps, or megabits per second, and was frustrated, but not surprised, by some of the numbers that I heard. For example, I did my own testing here in Ottawa. With my phone plan I have 180 megabits per second, and with my Wi-Fi I have 200 megabits per second. Please keep in mind that you need at least eight megabits per second to run a high-definition video conferencing call, and these results will be impacted if you are sharing a network with other people.
These are some of the constituent responses I had. I tried to hit all three of my regions. In Cambridge Bay, we see Wi-Fi at 14 megabits per second, and data at 51. In Baker Lake, my hometown, Wi-Fi is again at 14 megabits per second, and data is 85 megabits per second. Arviat's Wi-Fi is at six megabits per second and data is at 51 megabits per second. Sanikiluaq Wi-Fi is at two megabits per second, and data in Sanikiluaq is at 13 megabits per second. Connectivity is essential.
This isn't part of my notes, but earlier this afternoon during the session, a minister thanked the member for a question on the issue of rural broadband in his region. We know that before the COVID-19 crisis began the government recognized that fast, reliable and affordable high-speed Internet was a necessity, not a luxury, so clearly the federal government knows that this is a problem.
We continue to see large corporations like Bell charge ridiculous prices across Canada. Everyone here would agree that hours and hours of streaming parliamentary business on their data plans could result in some outrageous overage charges. During this crisis, we have also heard stories of cellphone and Internet providers suddenly charging Canadians more. How can we ask families to stay at home, parents to continue working and students to learn through online resources without providing affordable and accessible Internet services?
When I say this, I want you to keep in mind the fundamental human rights issues I have previously mentioned that too many of my constituents—Nunavummiut, Canadians—are facing.
Northwestel, one of the major telecom companies in Nunavut, has fortunately provided temporary Internet usage relief until May 31 for existing customers, which is one way we should be taking care of each other right now. Connectivity is essential.
With this in mind, I would like to talk about the proposed Kivalliq hydro-fibre link. I would like to echo the words of Premier Joe Savikataaq when he said, “The proposed Manitoba-Nunavut hydroelectric power line transmission and fibre optics project aligns with our Turaaqtavut mandate, Nunavut's growing telecommunications needs and the Government of Canada's goal to reduce the effects of climate change.”
The Kivalliq hydro-fibre link is an opportunity not only to promote cleaner energy but to provide much-needed Internet and data supports for our communities. We have yet to see the support needed from the federal government for this project. Connectivity is essential.
The amount of needed services in Nunavut is extremely high. Increasing accessible and affordable connectivity services could save lives. We could promote online counselling, education resource exchange, share information with one another and do so many other beneficial things.
Again, I'd like to thank everybody for this opportunity. I hope I was able to capture the basics of the reality in my riding and why connectivity is essential. There is much opportunity for us to do great things and provide these services to the people who need them.
Mat'na. Thank you.