Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re all too familiar with the devastating effects of oil spills and millions of dollars that are needed to clean them up. An oil spill does not have to be as big as the Gulf of Mexico or, certainly, the Exxon Valdez to have serious financial and long-lasting environmental implications. Mr. Speaker, similar small scale catastrophes happen in our own backyard. Anyone who has experienced a fuel spill as a result of a leaky oil tank knows exactly what I’m talking about.
I’m aware of a recent resident who has paid over $200,000 to excavate contaminated soil in their very own backyard. In many cases, neighbouring properties are contaminated as well and this is such a case. Even with insurance, Mr. Speaker, they still pay only a pittance of the coverage of what that expense actually is.
Mr. Speaker, while we are making progress on alternative forms of energy, most people still heat their homes with oil stored in tanks on their properties. We pay a lot to heat our homes in the North and at least this government could do things such as assistance for fuel tank replacement.
Mr. Speaker, generally it costs anywhere between $1,800 and $3,600 to replace an oil tank here in Yellowknife. I can only imagine what it would cost in a community. Mr. Speaker, you also have to pay additional fees to return your tank to the dump because there is a disposal fee. Mr. Speaker, if you’re a low income family, replacing a fuel tank is certainly probably a low priority or a non-existent priority when you compare that issue with food, rent or perhaps child care.
Mr. Speaker, we already provide rebates for things such as retrofit of old appliances such as fridges, pellet stoves and low-flow toilets, to name a few. A simple rebate program for double walled or fibreglass oil tanks could help people go a long way to make sure that they’re taking the responsible choices of updating their tanks.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t have to tell you, if you’re selling your home today, one of the first things the person looks at is when was the last time that oil tank was changed.
Mr. Speaker, this is a serious problem out there in industry and should be a serious problem recognized by this government. Mr. Speaker, a rebate program could go a long way to helping people. Mr. Speaker, with the quality problems of steel tanks and, of course, things like the low sulphur, these oil tanks have problems surviving.
So, Mr. Speaker, we need a program to help our average person here in the Northwest Territories, to show that the government does care about the programs. If anyone thinks a replacement of an oil tank is cheap, they’ve got that wrong. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.
