Michael McLeod

Thank you. We did do a consultation process with the public. We were not intending to change the shape of the plate. We were only trying to upgrade the plate first of all because the manufacturer was pulling out and was not going to be able to produce the identical plate anymore. It was an opportunity for us to update our plate because the plate did not meet national standards and didn’t for some time. It would be unfair, it would be very frustrating for the public to go embark on a consultation process where there was really not going to be a lot of changes, except for safety, visibility and...

The Member raises the fee that New Brunswick is charging. They’re charging $25. If you want us to stay on par, I guess we could consider that, but at this point we’re looking at recouping what it costs to produce the licence plate. That is our requirement that has been put in place by our government. The Auditor General has raised concern about our department not meeting and matching other jurisdictions. So we are required to do a number of things and that is to ensure that we recoup the costs of this new plate.

In any event, whether we kept the old plate and had a supplier reproduce them...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Member shouldn’t be driving with decorative plates on the front of the vehicle with any kind of numbering or any indication that it’s a legal plate. The plate is required to be on the back of the vehicle.

The disposal of the plates is not a red herring. It’s something that we have to do due diligence on. As the plates are turned over to us, we have to ensure proper disposal. We can’t afford to let 30,000 plates go into the landfill. That would collectively be of concern. So that’s what we have to do. The opportunity is still there for people to keep their plates...

We are collecting the plates right now. As this moves forward, we will be collecting plates. People will be coming forward with the plates for disposal. ITI has already requested to see if we can recycle them. We’ve turned them down. We don’t want the plates going back on the market and being utilized in any other form, especially as souvenir plates on the front of a vehicle.

We are creating souvenir plates for the public to use, for the public to do whatever they want to do with it. They’re free to do that. That will go out to consultation, and Members, people across the floor can have input...

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...