Debates of February 24, 2005 (day 43)

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 476-15(3): Benefits Of A Tax Credit To Homeowners

Mr. Speaker, I believe that there are options out there; we just have to be bold enough to go out there and put the case on the table. There’s one very apparent one that comes immediately to mind in the Aboriginal Development Corporation who, through land claims settlements and cash injections to the Government of Canada, are, I think, very well positioned to be major players in finding an answer to this solution. Are the Aboriginal Development Corporations and First Nations on that list in our toolbox, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 476-15(3): Benefits Of A Tax Credit To Homeowners

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I think we can show examples of how we’ve partnered with other governments from across the territory, aboriginal governments in some of the initiatives, either through supporting them through negotiated contracts in the smaller communities to help build housing, as well as universal partnership agreements in delivery of the housing program in those communities. There’s definitely an option there. At the end of the day even for example in the community of Inuvik, a developer wants a core tenant to be there to make sure that they can afford and they are making a good decision in building multi-unit apartment buildings and so on. They want somebody to backstop that investment. That takes dollars. We’re trying to wrestle with that in the big picture. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 476-15(3): Benefits Of A Tax Credit To Homeowners

Mr. Speaker, this is an issue across Canada, but it’s so acute here across Northern Canada. Has the Finance Minister taken this extremely serious situation up with his counterparts in the other territories to see what we could do if we linked arms and moved this along? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 476-15(3): Benefits Of A Tax Credit To Homeowners

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I meet with my counterparts from the other jurisdictions in the finance area, we use the information we have available to us; the housing information, the cost of living factors and we use that to build our argument to try to get more revenues to our own jurisdictions. So when I go down to meet with Minister Goodale, I’m carrying in my briefcase or my backpack the arguments we’ve developed in the Northwest Territories to try to convince them in fact we need more dollars to deliver the same level of programs that southern Canadians have already. The cost of living is extreme in the North. We realize that and we’re trying to get the rest of Canada to realize that, too. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of RWED in his capacity as the Minister responsible for the BIP. I would like to know if the Minister and the Cabinet have decided whether or not to waive the BIP with respect to 22 additional mobile homes under the market housing initiative. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 477-15(3): Business Incentive Policy Application

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The same rules will apply for phase two as they did for phase one. At that point when the decision was made to waive the BIP on the procurement of the mobile homes, it was for the life of the program. So there’s no difference between this phase and the prior purchase under phase one. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 477-15(3): Business Incentive Policy Application

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister responsible for economic development, for fair business practice, for fairness of all in Cabinet, how can he justify the government continuing to waive their own policy in spending $2.5 million? How can he justify that, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 477-15(3): Business Incentive Policy Application

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What’s happening here is we haven’t rescinded the previous decision. I think this debate was had in the House. I remember specific questions from the Member at that point about it, and obviously our feeling was, as it related to install in communities, we would leave the BIP in place because there was a chance to have value added, there was a chance there would be northern employment out of this. But our feeling was that if the BIP was simply going to be applied so that northern home distributors could make a phone call to Edmonton and get trailers sent up, that there wasn’t a lot of value added there and that that was not the best use of public money. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 477-15(3): Business Incentive Policy Application

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if he and this government operates under that policy, how does the government have credibility and justification to force all of the northern multi-national corporations in their obligations to hire northern, buy northern and do things northern? How can the Minister and the government have any credibility in insisting that when they don’t even practice their own principle? Thank you.

Hear! Hear!

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 477-15(3): Business Incentive Policy Application

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think, by and large, obviously, we do practice that principle. On a specific where we think there really will be no value added, no benefit in the North, then the question becomes one of finding a balance. Do you insist that the BIP be in place and allow, as I’ve said, a northern middleman to apply an additional mark-up on the units being purchased, Mr. Speaker? That was the debate that we had. How much value was there in that? So what we decided was more important was affordable housing in communities. We’ve seen that the premise of this program is that they’ll be on the cost-recovery basis, and even at that, $1,300 a month in communities for these three-bedroom mobile homes has been a challenge to get them filled. That’s why, I believe, the Housing Minister is moving to the smaller units. But if we allowed for the BIP and it added an additional cost, we may have been talking about -- hypothetically, I don’t know what the numbers would be -- maybe $1,350 per month, for homes.

We did feel there was value added in the install and the building of the pads for the trailers in communities, and that is why the BIP was applied to that portion of the contract. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 477-15(3): Business Incentive Policy Application

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to the Minister, that if you call Mr. Les Rocher in Yellowknife, he would say that there is a lot of value added in doing business in the North and that it is not fair for the government to apply BIP just in 15 percent of the projects and not to larger centres. I think he would tell him that he doesn’t appreciate the government competing with him in the whole selling of the mobile home business. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions at this point are for the Minister of Justice. Within that department is the responsibility for the Residential Tenancies Act. Mr. Speaker, the government has already committed to a review of this act and I would like the Minister, if he could, to give us a snapshot on when renters and landlords both can expect an opportunity to contribute to this review. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 478-15(3): Review Of Residential Tenancies Act

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe I was going to do a Minister's statement on this issue on Monday, but the answer is we will be launching the consultation process very soon, with advertisements in the newspapers and we will have a web site available for people. As well, we will go out and do focus group consultations and there will also be some direct mail-out, to people that we know are stakeholders, to solicit their input. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 478-15(3): Review Of Residential Tenancies Act

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I will still look forward to the Minister’s statement on Monday, by the way. I am wondering in the criteria for this, are there going to be any limitations or anything that is not going to be considered in this, Mr. Speaker. Are there any criteria at all of what will or will not be considered in the review of this act? Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 478-15(3): Review Of Residential Tenancies Act

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are planning to solicit specific comment in certain areas where we have had recommendations for change, particularly from the rentals officer. We are also going to open the door on comments on any area that landlords and tenants care to comment on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 478-15(3): Review Of Residential Tenancies Act

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to hear that there is going to be an open door on it. There is one particular area that has touched a lot of nerves, and that is those two words used in one sentence that can be very dangerous: “rent control.” It is a situation that we have had exposure to here in Yellowknife, and very recently one of our other larger communities has a situation that was brought to the attention of this Legislature. Is that something that this government will consider if there is strong public support and interest in pursuing that kind of a policy? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 478-15(3): Review Of Residential Tenancies Act

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now that I have just about said everything that I was going to say in the Minister’s statement, I doubt that I will bother to say one. Members will see in the response to the petition that will be tabled tomorrow, there is encouragement for landlords and tenants to submit their comments to this government on rent control. We are interested in hearing the comments from the public on both sides and then we will assess where we go, once we have had the opportunity for that input. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development a couple of questions with regard to some comments that were made at a recent press conference, in which the Governor of Alaska, Mr. Frank Murkowski, was seen as saying that the Mackenzie Valley gas project was stalled. Even the Premier of the Yukon, Mr. Fentie, who was also present at the press conference, didn’t dispute the fact that this was stalled. I am just wondering if the Minister can answer a question. The first question is what is his opinion? Is our gas project stalled, or is it not? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Member is asking for the Minister's opinion on something. I will allow the Minister to answer, but basically it is an opinion. The Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 479-15(3): Mackenzie Valley Gas Project

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me be clear; I think it is, quite simply, a fact that the Mackenzie gas project is not stalled. It is well into the regulatory process now; the Joint Review Panel environmental assessment is well underway. There has been so much interest in that process and so many information requests of Imperial, that the JRP has asked that Imperial be given more time in order to submit to those information requests.

I know there has been a lot of discussion in the media, back and forth, about the federal government meeting with the Deh Cho First Nations to resolve outstanding issues. I think that is positive and that negotiation continues. I wouldn’t be surprised, Mr. Speaker, to see some access agreements in the North, with the Inuvialuit settlement region and the Gwich’in settlement region, to be concluded soon. I think that will send a real clear message to everybody, that this project is well underway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 479-15(3): Mackenzie Valley Gas Project

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will rephrase this question. I will ask the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, will the Mackenzie Valley gas project go ahead of the Alaska Highway project? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 479-15(3): Mackenzie Valley Gas Project

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe it will. I think that is the general consensus. Let me say that we believe that both Alaskan American gas and Canadian gas needs to get to market. We do need to find a continental energy solution. But our project is so much further down the regulatory process, in terms of the Alaska Highway project, I don’t think a route has been determined. This decision about whether the NPA or NEB will prevail, is still one that is largely up in the air. I am sure that there are discussions to come with Akaska and Treaty 8 First Nations in the Yukon. There are many hurdles for that project. It is a very good project and it will happen, but clearly it is not as advanced as the Mackenzie gas project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Seeing as I gave away my last question by not asking a question, I want to re-ask the Minister of RWED about the implementation and application of the BIP. I would like to know if he can answer how he can justify saying that there is no value added in services that local businesses do provide. They bring in mobile homes, they set up land spaces and they do all sorts of work that puts down mobile homes in the North. How could he say that there is no value-added work in that? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 480-15(3): Business Incentive Policy Application

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For local businesses that would be installing mobile homes in communities, there is value added. There is employment created and that money will stay in communities and that is why we insisted that the BIP had to apply for the installation of these mobile homes. Those contracts were awarded, I believe, largely to northern companies, doing work in northern communities.

In terms of the actual phone call to purchase a trailer from a company in Sherwood Park, we know these can’t be currently constructed in the Northwest Territories -- I hope someday they will be -- but we didn’t see a lot of value added in that phone call and the potential that that would result in a 15 percent price increase.

Install in communities and the work that that would generate is very important, very important for our local economies. That is why the BIP applied to that portion of the contract. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 480-15(3): Business Incentive Policy Application

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on what basis does he suggest that there are no businesses in the Territories who could provide homes? There is no manufacturing mobile home factory, but there are lots of businesses in the North that could provide housing to the North. Is it not his responsibility to look for business opportunities and promote growth and promote opportunities? On what basis does he conclude that?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 480-15(3): Business Incentive Policy Application