Michael McLeod

I guess the committee didn’t provide feedback because we didn’t have an opportunity to brief them. There was no opportunity to go in front of committee to present on the licence plate. We did talk to North America’s leader in licence plate design, 3M Corporation, who provided us some advice. We talked to the NWT Tourism Association, who provided us some advice. We also talked to the veterans, the Legion, the municipal officers, the RCMP, and we also consulted with other jurisdictions.

We didn’t go out and do a full-blown consultation process because we were not planning to change the design. It...

We are right now advising the public that they can turn their plate in and we’ll dispose of it for them, or they can keep it. We have no other options available to the public. We are not planning to try to put them on the market. There is a concern from the environment as these older plates were dipped in some toxic chemicals that were required to prevent corrosion that we are concerned about. Thank you.

Thank you. The cost for the new plate and the manufacture and associated paperwork is $10, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. If Quebec drives over the cliff I would encourage the Member not to follow them. Mr. Speaker, the Member raises examples from other jurisdictions then wants to bow out when I retaliate and show him that he is wrong in his answers. Mr. Speaker, the reality is we’re doing as well or better than other jurisdictions and we should recognize that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is always encouraging us to level down the jurisdictions and try to stay on par with what they do. The Auditor General has also indicated that our fees are too low, especially in the area of airport development and parking fees and things of that nature. We are also encouraged by our government to recover any new costs. The cost of $10 is what it cost to produce the new licence plate.

It’s probably by far lower than most jurisdictions. Other jurisdictions are charging quite a bit more, even for the personalized licence plates. Some jurisdictions are charging...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are two reasons, I guess, that we are reluctant to try to recycle these plates. Our preference would be to collect all the plates. We know that’s not realistic. People want to keep their plates as souvenirs. Some have personalized plates or numbers that they want to hang on to. Some want to keep it because the plate is not going to be in production any further. So we’ve made allowance for that. People can keep their licence plates. Organizations can do a drive to pick up licence plates. However, we have a concern about disposal of plates that are out on the market...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct; there are instances where individuals have recently purchased personalized plates and they will now incur a new cost to replace them. It’s not the full cost. It’s $25 for the personalized plate plus $10 for the new plate. That doesn’t seem to be stopping people coming forward. We’ve already had up to 200 people come in and request new plates or replacement personalized plates. We think it’s a cost that’s fair and we’ll be sticking to the price that we are trying to take.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve been writing to committee since 2009. The Member, as the chair, could have requested a briefing at any point.

Mr. Chairman, we should also clarify that we didn’t change the design of the plate. We upgraded the plate to meet national standards that require some safety, there were safety concerns. There was also a size that needed to be incorporated into this new plate, and while we were at it we wanted to be able to be consistent with the government’s slogan, which is “Spectacular,” and incorporated that as a way to promote the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you. I’m assuming the Member is asking about the plate costs, $10, which is required to recover the cost of what it costs to produce it, associated paperwork. There is going to be 30,000 plates that will be replaced and a further 10,000 a year annually. It’s a fee that we are not marking up to recover any, or to make any money on it. Other jurisdictions charge more. For example, B.C. charges $18, Ontario charges $20, and New Brunswick charges $25. So we feel we’re below the national rates or at least on par with other jurisdictions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t believe we’re forcing anybody to buy a new plate. If you need a plate, you’re going to have to pay for it. That’s the cost recovery that’s required for this program, and we can’t keep the old plate because the old plate does not meet industry standards or national standards. The size is not what it’s required to be and there’s also visibility issues with the old plate. There was also the issue of safety. So we are now moving forward as one of the last jurisdictions to do so and we’re meeting the national standards that all other jurisdictions in North America...