Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I disagree with the Minister. I don't think this is a deterrent to tourists coming; I think it might be a deterrent for people who might be wanting to operate unlicensed operations.

The Minister said that we are the only jurisdiction in Canada that requires licences. What is the specific policy rationale for that, if no one else deems this necessary and it is not an industry standard in Canada? Why are we requiring additional red tape for something that the Minister says isn't a problem? Thank you.

Some of my constituents who are tourism operators have been complaining for quite some time, and I am very surprised to hear that this information has not made its way to the Minister's desk, considering we have operators who are not following our laws and regulations. Since the Minister became aware of it yesterday, what has he done to ensure that all of our operators are compliant with our own laws and regulations?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 100(4) and move Committee Report 10-18(3) into Committee of the Whole for further consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.

Motion 10: To amend subclause 22(1) to allow the Ombud to discontinue acting on a matter where the complainant has abandoned the complaint.

Motion 11: To amend Bill 20 by deleting clause 23 and substituting new language.

Clause 23 provides that the Ombud cannot investigate any matter that falls under the jurisdiction of another statutory officer with Ombud-like powers. The amendment was proposed for clarity, to identify precisely which statutory officers are referred to.

Motion 12: To amend clause 24 by adding a new provision after subclause 24(5).

S...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 100(4) and move Committee Report 9-18(3) into Committee of the Whole for consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I appreciate where the Member is coming from. I know many Northerners are constantly concerned about the ever-increasing cost of living, especially those in small communities.

However, what these amendments were designed to do is to empower cities, towns, and villages to implement taxes to support tourism opportunities in their communities. When the standing committee consulted with all of the six cities, towns, and villages that would be subject to these new bylaw provisions, the vast majority of them spoke in favour of the City of Yellowknife being allowed to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

During the course of this review, the Honourable Alfred Moses, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, twice advised the committee that he would not consider amendments that committee was proposing to the bill because the department had not consulted with their partner organizations on the committee's proposals.

While acknowledging that it is the Minister's prerogative to concur with committee's amendments or not, committee reminds the Minister that standing committees have the authority to carry out their own consultation on a given bill and to propose amendments...

Further to that, in the future, when developing tax proposals such as these, can the Minister commit to providing more financial details to allow committee to properly assess things like this when it's made available? Because it would greatly improve our ability to assess the viability of these potential tax initiatives. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, tourism is big business in the Northwest Territories. Last year more than 100,000 visitors travelled to the NWT, and spending also reached an all-time high at $200 million. The results are expected to be even higher for this past year. It's unsurprising that many entrepreneurs are building businesses based on the success of our tourism market. Unfortunately, not all these individuals are playing by the same rules.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard several complaints from licensed tourism operators in Kam Lake who raise serious concerns around illegal outfits exploiting tourism...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Some of the evidence committee collected in its hearings included a finance estimate produced by the Days Inn and Suites based on industry information, and their estimate was around $1.1 million of revenue. Further, the list of exemptions currently contained in this bill would consume around 30 to 40 percent of total revenues. Does the Minister agree with that estimation? Thank you.