Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I’d like to thank the Member for recognizing the benefits that come from large projects, such as Blackwater, to the communities and to companies in the North. Yes, we do follow a policy. It’s the Business Incentive Policy that requires us to have certain content that is listed in the contract that has to be adhered to, and we do monitor the situations and the projects very closely. Thank you.
So the Minister is then aware of some of the complaints from the community of Wrigley, especially in the case...Like in the joint venture contract there right now offered the community of Wrigley I think it was $200 to rent a water truck for the whole day. Mr. Speaker, that just covers wages only. That’s very unfair to ask the community to provide almost free services for the water and, as well, they use that very same excuse, Mr. Speaker, because they use a lowball figure, they use that very same excuse to bring in their own water truck and not use the community of Wrigley’s. Our government is all about developing capacity and giving them opportunities. Like I said, in the spring contract, they purchased equipment and that’s not even being used as well, Mr. Speaker.
Once again, is the Minister aware of the lack of working with the community of Wrigley to use their equipment and employ their people? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I am very familiar with this project. We went far above what was required to ensure that the community was involved. We gave a lot of flexibility to the community to become a partner and negotiate a contract. Six million dollars worth of work went to the partnership. We extended time frames. We facilitated discussions with subcontractors. So I think there’s been a lot of work in this area and certainly our department has been involved every step of the way. We are well aware that there are some companies, some sub-trades are not able to negotiate good arrangements.
Mr. Speaker, we as a government cannot get involved with the discussions with every company that needs to work with a general contractor. We look at the bottom line. Right now the community has benefited close to $7 million from this project and that’s over 20 percent, Mr. Speaker. I think that the community should be very proud of their ability to take part in this project and generate revenue for their community. Thank you.
Indeed. Like I mentioned in my Member’s statement, it was quite an achievement, the work that they’d done in the springtime, but to complete the bridge, they’ve got some new contractors, Stan Dean and I believe it’s Ruskin had joint ventured. But these are the people that the community are having difficulty with. They’re giving the opportunities to meet and sit and negotiate for their equipment, but I don’t believe that the rates they’re using are fair and they’re using that excuse to get their own equipment, employ their own people and, as a result, leaving out the community of Wrigley. They did have some opportunities, but they just cannot seem to be using their equipment. They’ve used that previous contract, they developed the capacity and we’ve got to continue to support it. So I’d like to ask the Minister, Mr. Speaker, what can be done in this instance to help continue to build the capacity of the community of Wrigley? Thank you.
As in every project with every community, there has to be a demonstrated capacity to take on some of the work. The equipment has to be in good shape, whether it’s a CAT or a grader or a truck, and the price has to be fair and the people that are going to operate it have to be experienced enough to ensure their safety. Our department has facilitated, we’ve worked with the community at every step and we’ll continue to do so. If there is a situation here, I’m not sure what the water truck number is referring to, whether it’s a municipal water truck or if they have one of their own, I wasn’t aware of that. But we certainly can look into it. We encourage the company, we have inspections, we have discussions with the contractors to ensure that they’re involved and they involve the community and we’ll follow that up.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I guess, overall, the biggest contract here is Ruskin and it can almost be viewed like they’re an outside contractor. What I’d like to see is to ensure that there is proper follow-up, proper documentation that they use as much local content as possible. Can the Minister ensure a mechanism like that when they do their post-mortem at the completion of this project, to show how much local content that they have used on this $50 million contract? Thank you.
We certainly can do that. Mr. Speaker, I have to point out I don’t share the Member’s concerns. The community, the job contract from the community requested to do the site preparation and they did the contract, they had that contract, they requested to do the earth works, they got the contract, they did that work, they wanted to do the gravel pit development, they requested that, they got that, and they did it, and they wanted to provide camp services, Mr. Speaker, and they are providing camp services. I wasn’t aware there was water truck involvement in here. I only know that the Municipality of Wrigley has a water truck. If that’s what we’re talking about, then we’ll follow that up. The post-mortem is going to be done, in any event. Our indication is that this project has exceeded all local and northern requirements and it’s only going to improve as the time goes on. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Government House Leader and it gets back to my Member’s statement where I was talking about animal rights legislation in the Northwest Territories and another incident just last week where three puppies were found in the dump in Behchoko with their throats cut. We start to ask the question again, the public asks us questions, it makes us look bad both on a national stage and on an international stage when incidents like this happen. In the Northwest Territories, the legislation just has no teeth to do much about it, as was evidenced with the 34 dogs that had to be put down in Behchoko because the Crown felt they couldn’t get a conviction against the person who did that.
So I’d like to ask the Government House Leader today, what is the current status of animal rights legislation in the Northwest Territories today and where is it going? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Government House Leader, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government is taking a two-track approach to this particular issue. The amendments to the Dog Act are being worked on, there’s a legislative proposal expected in November that will be ready by a review by committee and, hopefully, introduction in the winter session. That will give some immediate relief and more authority to the people dealing with issues of animal cruelty. At the same time, Justice is at work doing the necessary preliminary work on a whole new piece of legislation for animal cruelty, keeping in mind that our legislative cycle takes, on average, about two years. So because of that gap, the amendments to the Dog Act are being proceeded with. Thank you
That’s interesting, considering what happened yesterday with the Petroleum Tax Act that went through the House in one day. I’d like to ask the Minister, last spring the Justice Minister had talked about a working group that was being formulated by government to take a look at animal rights legislation here in the Northwest Territories. I’d like to know exactly what that working group has accomplished in the past six months, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
A full briefing on both these particular pieces of legislation has been offered to committee and the folks stand ready to sit down with committee to be able to go through in detail both pieces of legislation, the amendments to the Dog Act as well as the new legislation and the work that the working committee has done. Thank you.
I appreciate the work that is being done on the Dog Act, but that doesn’t begin to address other domesticated animals in the Northwest Territories and cruelty or abuse that’s inflicted on those animals, Mr. Speaker. I know the Minister said the legislative process takes two years. Is there any way, any possible way that the government can see to it that animal rights legislation in the Northwest Territories gets a higher priority than us waiting two years and that won’t even be conducted until the next government comes through the doors in two years? Thank you.
As the Member noted, when the House puts its mind to issues of legislation, be it the Petroleum Products Act or in other legislation like the Family Violence Act, things can move relatively quickly. It would depend on the advice we get from the Legislative committee, if there’s a piece of legislation that can be adapted and modified to the Northwest Territories without rewriting right from scratch. But I think it’s an issue that if the will of the House is such, that could be looked at. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s response. The Yukon had a similar occurrence with some animal cruelty, which led them to bring in an act two and a half years ago; the Animal Cruelty Act in the Yukon. We don’t have to look that far and wide to find a piece of legislation, I think, that we could take a look at here in the Northwest Territories. Again, I want to ask the Minister, I know the Justice Minister said this in March, but can we please get another piece of legislation and get moving on this sooner than two years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I will be talking about this issue with my Cabinet colleagues tomorrow morning and we’ll look at what’s possible and is there an ability to use existing legislation from other jurisdictions modified to the northern reality and not have to do this from scratch to see what’s possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of ITI, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Speaker, in regard to the importance of the harvesting industry in the Northwest Territories and the important role that it played in developing the Northwest Territories going back to the mid-1800s, I think it’s important to realize that it is still a very good part of our communities and the subsistence dependence that people have is to still trap and still harvest as a means of sustaining themselves.
I’d like to ask the Minister in regard to this government’s programs that they have, we have programs in regard to supporting the secondary industry for diamond polishing, we have funds available for the tourism industry, we have funds available in regard to APG and supporting their initiatives in regard to a pipeline, we have oil and gas money in regard to providing that service and also we just learned that the outfitters businesses are receiving some $300,000 in regard to the Barren Ground Outfitters. I’d just like to ask the Minister to explain exactly what are we doing as a government to support the trapping industry in the Northwest Territories?
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government has been involved with providing support to the trapping industry for many years and when I count up all the programs that we have, we’re providing approximately $1.75 million that we make available to assist trappers, and that’s not counting the $14.250 million that we’ve made available over the past some years since division as part of the Western Harvesters Assistance Program to allow harvesters to purchase new equipment. Thank you.
I know in the past, through economic development through our EDA agreement with the federal government, we have programs such as special Arctic grants where people were able to apply for grants to get snowmobiles, equipment, we have the Grubstake Program, which was there to assist people basically to stake claims and whatnot in the Northwest Territories. I’d just like to ask the Minister, in light of the economic dollars we’re seeing from the federal government, have we looked at the possibility of implementing these types of programs which worked in the past and we’re there to support harvesters like we do with the fishing industry, the diamond industry and the other sectors of our economies so that people can really see the benefit of sustaining this industry?
The federal government recently announced the CanNor program. It’s headquartered in Iqaluit and it has district offices in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. Also they do have programs that are operated out of there. The Member is correct; in the past there was ARDA programs, special ARDA programs, and when I questioned the federal government about was there ever any potential for ARDA programs coming back, they said there were already ARDA programs in existence and the funding is going to aboriginal governments. Although instead of ARDA it’s ARHDA funding. So as far as I understand, each of the aboriginal governments are receiving ARHDA money. Thank you.
Again, this government is doling out money to the outfitters industry because of so-called impacts, because of the numbers dropping in caribou. I mean, the same herd is going to affect the people that depend on subsistence harvesting, especially the aboriginal people that depend on those herds for subsistence. You have to offer them an alternative for hunting or harvesting caribou. One of the areas that you can seriously make a difference in is the trapping industry so that those people can realize that if we support them in that sector, that they’ll be able to continue to sustain the lifestyle that can sustain them, they’re able to bring in the furs and have an industry in harvesting and expanding the processing of those products in the Northwest Territories. So, again, I’d like to ask the Minister, have you looked at the implications from the harvesters’ perspective, not the outfitters, and what are we doing to realizing these decisions made in regard to not harvesting the Barren Ground caribou herd or whatever? It’s going to have more of an impact on aboriginal harvesters than it will to the outfitting industry.
We have looked at those sectors. The Barren Ground Outfitters probably provide something in the neighbourhood of four to five million dollars in direct economic benefits to the Northwest Territories. Similarly, we looked at trapping and it’s very difficult to quantify other than the actual return, plus we estimate that if you had to go to the stores to buy country foods that the harvester provides, you’d probably be looking at something in the neighbourhood of $20 million. So we think that both sectors do provide economic benefits to the Northwest Territories and we try to continue that they do survive. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I find it kind of hard to hear the Minister’s comments regarding not being able to quantify the importance of the trapping industry in the Northwest Territories but we’re doling out money to every industry that’s from outside the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, my last question in regard to the importance of harvesting to people in our small rural and remote communities. People still have to sustain themselves by some sort, unless this government’s willing to dole out more money for income support and put everybody in our communities on income support and make that an industry, because that’s exactly where this government is going and not realizing the importance of this industry on rural and remote communities. So I’d like to ask the Minister again, exactly why is this government not taking the importance of the trapping industry in the Northwest Territories like we do the diamond industry?
I like to think that trapping is a success story. We are contributing $1.75 million in assistance for 800 trappers, and I think it’s a very important way to maintain a way of life.
The diamond industry and about 1,200 miners that work and it contributes significant dollars to our GDP. The diamond mines and the mining industry have resulted in the Northwest Territories having the highest GDP for the past 10 years. So it’s very difficult to compare a billion dollar industry to a maybe one or two million dollar industry. But we are contributing to try to make all sectors successful in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my Member’s statement, my questions are for the Minister of Finance. Yesterday the Premier was asked about the current state of devolution negotiations and gave answers describing their status. Completion of a deal will take some time, and meanwhile, the revenues owed to our citizens for the sale of our resources go uncollected. Many Members have called for a resource tax as a desirable interim measure. Will the Minister commit to bringing forward a proposal for the increase of revenues through resource rents as part of his package of recommendations in the next budget? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are committed to bringing forward a proposal for a heritage fund. We know that from some quarters there is an interest in a resource tax. We have indicated that we’re looking at tax shifting at this point, given that we’re still in a recession that while there are some weak signs of recovery, it’s not clear that we’re on the way out and that we don’t have anything further to worry about. But we have committed, as a result of our roundtable, to do work on a resource tax, and look at the feedback we’ve received and put a discussion paper out there so that we could initiate that policy discussion to see. Keeping in mind the last time, about a year ago, when we talked about revenue options and looked at creating $30 million in revenue and we talked about a whole host of things -- resource taxes, hotel taxes, road tolls, all these types of things -- there was almost unanimous denunciation in the House for any contemplation of raising taxes and the cost of living. So we will come forward with a discussion paper and we are going to move on the heritage fund. Thank you.
Very good news to hear about the heritage fund intent. I’m happy to hear that some work is being done on the resource tax. Of course, times change and, as I say, there has been quite a shift, as well, in our thinking on the resource tax that, of course, would not affect the cost of living.
The tax shifting is of interest, though. Studies show that when taxes are lowered for low and middle income people, the money is spent priming the economy and improving standards of living. The studies also show that high income earners who get tax cuts spend their money on imported goods or they put it into savings, providing only limited benefit to the community. Will the Minister commit to including a lowering of income taxes for lower and possibly middle income earners in his revenue recommendations? Mahsi.
We would be prepared to look at all of the suggestions. I am not prepared to negotiate the contents of the upcoming budget in the House. At this point, there have been lots of recommendations made. We are looking at trying to maintain tax levels, so we are looking at things like tax shifting, recognizing, as well, it’s a delicate balancing act.
The other concern is if you continue to raise taxes at the high income level as well, you have trouble attracting people when they look at the tax regime and where is the best place for them to come and provide their services. We recognize the pressures at both ends and we will try to find that appropriate balance. Thank you.
Thanks again for those comments. I recognize it’s difficult to commit at this point and I am happy to see work is being done at this point. I hope we do go forward with that opportunity.
It’s shocking, of course, that nearly 20 percent of our earned income in the NWT economy is paid to people who don’t pay taxes in the NWT. I recognize that the MOU between the government and the diamond mines is working on that to base workers here in the North and that there is some effort to look at immigration to sort of help in an indirect way, however, tools do exist that can help us recover some of the loss in this area. What measures is the Minister contemplating and hopefully proposing to capture some of these escaping revenues right now? Thank you.
As the Minister from ITI has pointed out, there were meetings held with the mines -- BHP, Diavik and De Beers -- about the MOU. One of the best ways is going to be what the mines have committed to doing, which is limiting the incentives for flying south. The pickup points are only going to be in the North, keeping in mind, then, that it’s going to be the responsibility of communities that are going to be possibly places where these folks will stay. They have to make sure that they have housing available should these folks that fly in say that now they are prepared to live in the North, be it Yellowknife, Hay River, Fort Smith, Fort Providence, any community. We need housing available to hold up our end of the deal.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I suppose the departure tax might be in line with some of the discussion that the Minister is having with the mines and so on to try to capture the entrance and exit of people from the Territories as they come to and fro from work. Will the Minister commit to leading the charge for ensuring that these measures are put together in an integrative and complementary way so we can enjoy the fullest range of benefits from them when we do put them in place? Will he recognize their relationship to each other and ensure that they take advantage of that opportunity? Mahsi.
When the Member mentions leading the charge, of course, I think of the charge of the Light Brigade into the Valley of Death of 600. But, yes, we will play a leadership role and we will pull together an integrated comprehensive package, recognizing that some work will get done in time for this budget, but any significant restructuring of our tax system is going to take time to do the work and the consultations and hopefully reaching consensus, so that if it’s not ready for this budget, it will be ready for the budget of ‘11-’12.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for the public service, for the Department of Human Resources, Mr. Bob McLeod. Mr. Speaker, we live in stressful times and we certainly know and believe that employees are entitled to all the benefits and all the leaves that are encompassed in their employment contracts. Mr. Speaker, we hear that at any given time in the public service, 10 percent of positions are not filled. They are vacant and people must be off the job in various other types of leave as well: education leave, stress leave and maternity leave and all different kinds; bereavement leave.
Mr. Speaker, today I’d like to ask particularly about the issue of stress leave. Does the Minister know at any given time how many employees on a percentage basis, just an estimate, would be off from the public service in the Northwest Territories on stress leave? Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be only speculating. We don’t, once a person has medical leave, categorize the reasons leaving for being on medical leave. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
