Debates of October 27, 2006 (day 17)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today as I said earlier, my questions are for Mr. McLeod, the Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, and it’s about the senior citizen and disabled persons tax relief program. The municipal council of a tax-based community can, by passing a bylaw, exempt the eligible property of a senior citizen or disabled person from part of the taxes where the senior citizen or disabled person is the owner or part owner of that home. The bylaw sets out the percentage of taxes to be exempted up to a maximum of 50 percent.

The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs pays the municipality in an amount equal to the amount specified in the bylaw. The taxpayer has no tax liability with respect to the amount paid by MACA. According to a clause in the Senior Citizen and Disabled Persons Tax Relief Act, if a senior or a disabled person is a part owner of a home with someone who is not another senior or another disabled person then they are not eligible for the program.

So my question, Mr. Speaker, is this. In correspondence with the Minister in July 2005 he indicated that the legislation would be reviewed as part of a broader income security reform initiative which I believe is not yet completed. It was also stated that MACA would be undertaking an operational review to ensure the consistency of delivery throughout the Northwest Territories. I would like to ask the Minister, has this been completed and is there a system in place now that will allow for seniors and people with disabilities to benefit from this program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 210-15(5): Seniors And Disabled Persons Tax Relief Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the honourable Member from Hay River South has raised this issue on a number of occasions before and given the response of government we have undertaken a review of this whole situation and looked and talked to the different municipalities about how the concerns were in those communities and a review was undertaken. It was incorporated into a larger assessment that is being done and headed up by ECE. That process is in its final stages. We’re expecting to see some of the recommendations and options coming forward along with some of the costing associated with it and we expect to have those for review by December. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 210-15(5): Seniors And Disabled Persons Tax Relief Program

Thank you. The Minister beat me to it by saying I brought this up before. I’ve got a very thick file on this subject here, Mr. Speaker, and the correspondence goes back to letters to Mr. Antoine in the previous government even. I mean it’s been at least 10 years that I’ve been talking about this. This is a good program, the concept is good, but the actual working out of it is kind of untenable. It has for some people who are the would-be recipients of this support to take drastic measures. Like, in instances where one person who is on title is disabled and the other isn’t, where they’ve actually taken the other person’s name off title to get this. There’s not enough support for seniors and persons with disabilities and therefore that’s why this tax relief is so important. So I don’t know what to say, Mr. Speaker. It’s been so long. Will the Minister commit to recognizing that this is a priority? It may seem like a small thing on the government’s agenda, but it’s a huge thing for the people affected by it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 210-15(5): Seniors And Disabled Persons Tax Relief Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is an issue that’s come forward as something that we need to deal with. The initial draft was done I think in 1988. It’s been some time since the act has been replaced and it requires a review. We’ve done that and there are recommendations coming forward recognizing there are discrepancies between the general taxation area and municipal taxation. So there are a number of issues that we have to deal with, and the Member has highlighted some of them here, and we’re hoping to be able to rectify the situation then and maybe look at something that if we’re able to accommodate it by some time this spring. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 210-15(5): Seniors And Disabled Persons Tax Relief Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don’t really know what else to ask. I just was going to ask, for the benefit of the people in my constituency who are anxious to hear an answer to this question, I was hoping that we were going to hear something earlier than this spring. Let me be clear. Is that when the Minister is going to share with us the recommendations or is that when this matter might be resolved? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 210-15(5): Seniors And Disabled Persons Tax Relief Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, that’s when we will have some decisions that we’ll be able to announce in a number of different areas and this is one of the acts that is under review and we will be looking at the options and recommendations come December and we will have some decisions that we will take forward and be able to share in April, hopefully. Thank you.