The Member is right; I’m going to say exactly the same thing again. We are doing medical travel modernization and we are including this as one of the areas that we are hoping to address, or intend to address for that program. Right now our policy is such that it allows us to do reimbursements where a second opinion is justified. But it could be that people may choose to go out for second opinions if they know their trip is going to be paid for when they don’t actually need a second opinion. So we need to be cautious. We can’t just say we’ll pay for everybody that wants to go anywhere for a second opinion. We encourage people to use the system that is at hand. We encourage people to work with their doctors and continue through normal processes.
But at the same time, if somebody is frustrated with the treatment they’re receiving or not convinced that the treatment they’re receiving is appropriate, I strongly encourage them to go to the quality assurance individuals and staff within each of the authorities. These quality assurance individuals can do a review of the situation, which actually allows us to get good feedback so that we can continually improve the system. So there are other mechanisms where people can express their frustrations. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just following up on my Member’s statement in terms of recognizing the local employment opportunities for the tiny hamlet of Enterprise, recently the community was quite excited to experience the construction of the fire tower in the vicinity of their community.
Can the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources provide an update on the construction of the Enterprise fire tower? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
I can, Mr. Speaker, and I’d be happy to make sure the Member gets it as soon as I get that update for him. Thank you.
This community receiving a fire tower wasn’t a random decision. I know ENR considers the geography and the location of these towers.
How was it determined that Enterprise would see a fire tower? Mahsi.
There was a range of vision, there was a need to replace, there was a discussion with the community looking for appropriate land, and then working through the logistics in terms of the actual project to get it built. Thank you.
Just in terms of the experience of last fire season, which was fairly significant, the biggest on record, is there anything special that the Minister and his department will undertake to involve the community in terms of preparing for this fire season? For example, perhaps considering some strategic locations of communities for fire bases, or amassing, perhaps, a camp of personnel, ensuring that communities are involved and perhaps ensuring that communications are very clear in terms of involving communities. Mahsi.
ENR has been doing work all winter and is concluding that work in the coming months to work with the communities, work with stakeholders, getting feedback on last fire season, as well as going around, along with MACA, to look at communities getting fire smarted, getting ready with their emergency measures plans.
We’ve learned from last year. We’re going to be bringing our emergency firefighters on stream sooner, and we’re going to be standing ready, especially in light of the indicators that we’re now getting in regards to snowpack and those types of things, which look to be below normal at a time when we’re in the fourth year of the most severe drought. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Minister just alluded to perhaps an indication of some environmental factors in terms of snowpack, in terms of trying to predict whether we’re going to have another dry season or not.
Can the Minister at least give an indication to the House in terms of his efforts or department’s efforts to try and forecast whether we’re going to have another drought season or not? Mahsi.
We’ve been looking at talking to the people we have on retainer, the meteorologists that take long-term forecasts. NTPC, in the next couple of weeks, is going to be doing testing of the snowpack in the Snare system just to check to see what they anticipate the runoff might be. Of course, we’re monitoring. With the benefit of satellite imagery now, we’re monitoring the snowpack and we can tell, from everything I’ve heard, that what has fallen so far this year is less than a normal year. To have any positive effect, we need at least double the snow we currently have to date. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of ENR. In my Member’s statement I talked about the mining industry impacts. Today I want to focus on the environment and the cleanup, and later on I’ll focus on the business opportunities and the potential opportunities and challenges to date.
I want to ask the Minister of Environment, has this government been working with the federal government in regards to the Bear Lake remediation cleanup of the mines that have been happening in that area? It’s been reported that 700,000 tonnes of waste was dumped into Bear Lake. Is the government working with the community of Deline on that cleanup?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are well aware of that. From what I recollect, that is one of the waste sites that the federal government has kept to be remediated. Thank you.
Mining has been pretty active in the Sahtu, and I’d like to continue my question. In the Mackenzie Mountains across from Tulita, I think the Minister is aware that there’s a lake called Drum Lake where the Drum Lake Lodge is situated. In that area there is a small site that’s been abandoned by, reportedly, a Shell company there that needs to be cleaned up.
Has the Minister looked at this small site at the Drum Lake area?
If my memory serves me correctly once again, I do recollect the Member sending me pictures of the site, which I sent to the department. We’re aware of the circumstance, but there’s been no active ability to put funds towards the cleanup at this point. Thank you.
Thank you. I’ll continue working with the Minister on this issue. I want to look at the other areas in the Sahtu.
Have there been any other sites in the Good Hope/Colville Lake area in regards to mining activities that are left for remediation by this government or the federal government?
I’ll commit to the Member to get him a complete list of sites in the Sahtu, federal and territorial, as they currently exist today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to that list. The Doi T’oh Territorial Park and the Canol Heritage Trail are 942 square kilometres. Can I ask the Minister if he would provide a remediation, contamination report on the cleanup, because this is in discussion with this government here, as regards to our responsibility once all the checks and balances have been signed off and we take ownership of those two areas?
I once again recollect flying down, having the benefit of being able to take a tour of partway into Doi T’oh Canyon into Godlin Lake with the Member, and it is truly spectacular country. You can see the remnants from World War II. That is still a federal area. As the Member has pointed out, there is a considerable amount of remediation that has to be done. When that is done to the satisfaction of all parties, then the territorial government will look at taking over the remediated site. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I raised the concern of the overbearing micro-brewery tax system being imposed on our brew pub manufacturing starting up in Yellowknife. When one should be supporting this entrepreneurial start-up business, the GNWT, even by cutting its rate by half, still has one of the highest micro-brewery sin taxes in all of Canada. Sadly, when production increases, many fear with the tax regime being proposed, this will do very little to enhance the true potential of this new industry.
I bud my questions today for the wiser Minister of Finance. There is no denying the huge tourism and employment potential of a northern micro-brewing industry.
Can the Minister indicate, has the department undertaken, or plan to undertake, any studies of tourism and employment of this new industry? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We need to look at this issue. I would suggest a broader perspective of why we have placed such a high cost on alcohol. Having spent a good number of years in social services, five and a half years as Health Minister, I can tell you it’s because the abuse of alcohol costs this government over $100 million a year, probably more if you add in all the costs related to hospitals and FASD children. We just approved in this House, I think about $11 million for residents down south, the majority of which, if you checked the case files, would have alcohol abuse in there somewhere.
So, we have deliberately placed the high price on some of the things that are causing the most trouble in our jurisdiction. Those two things are alcohol and tobacco. Northerners have a prodigious thirst and a fairly prodigious propensity to smoke or use tobacco, all of which we know, when they’re abused, can be deadly.
We have made a conscious decision for many, many years now to stick to that. It’s the same concept as a carbon tax. If you make the price high enough, it’s supposed to drive down consumption. It hasn’t quite worked yet, but it’s still something we see as a very, very big issue.
So in regards to this issue, we have offered up an incentive, as the Member has indicated, 50 percent, but the bottom line rationale is what’s the impact of alcohol on our society and our government and our coffers as a government, and it’s dramatic, and that’s why we are where we are. I’m not sure there would be the public will to start cutting taxes for alcohol. Thank you.
A very thorough response, but again, we’re trying to start a start-up company. While the admitted markup for beer produced in the NWT has been substantially reduced, as we indicated, it still stands out in significant contrast to lower rates for micro-breweries in every other Canadian jurisdiction.
Can the Minister indicate, what is the competitive advantage of having the highest micro-brewery tax rate in the country while trying to encourage business manufacturing, jobs, tourism potential and attracting what he has proposed, a 2,000 population growth? Thank you.
The direction that has been chosen by the government consistently over the many Assemblies that I’ve been here and prior is to see the need to try to control the abuse of alcohol. One of the ways we’ve chosen to do that is to put a tax on it that would be a disincentive to use, in addition to all the education and all the programs we have trying to work with communities for healthy babies and smart choices and active living.
So, we have two issues. The Member wants us to have a very modest tax regime to encourage the production of alcohol, and I’m saying I think we have a broader societal obligation and a governmental obligation, and that’s to try to manage the devastation that’s caused by alcohol abuse.
We do recognize the value of this type of business. We do provide some incentive. But if, once again, we’re going to make a decision to cut taxes on alcohol, we can’t just pick the micro-brewery. I would suggest we need to have a very broad policy discussion about what is our approach going to be across the board, because it would be a dramatic shift if that’s what we decide to do. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As of December 2014, the GNWT updated their tax regime to a three-tiered system. This was allegedly to match the start of production of the new brewery. However, after speaking to the manufacturers myself, they feel that the 2,500 hectolitre maximum threshold would be met in no time and just when this company is considering market penetration to the South.
Can the Minister indicate how can our local manufacturer, a micro-brewery, expect to be competitive with southern micro-brewery producers when we have the highest energy costs of production in Canada, we have high transportation costs, and now we have the highest micro tax regime in the country?
If there is consistent will expressed by committee, SCOPP, for example, that we need to have a review of the tax rates on alcohol production, beer production, and if they make that clear to us, we will have a discussion about that. But I would suggest to the Member you can’t just pick a micro-brewery and talk about some kind of modified favourable tax rate. We would have to be prepared to talk about taxes on alcohol, what’s our position on alcohol, how do we want to manage the business piece along with dealing with the incredible social impact that we know exists in every one of our communities. In fact, the Member for the Sahtu just passed a private member’s bill to make sure that people in his region would have a say and a right to some direction being provided in terms of access to alcohol. This is a very, very important, sensitive subject, and I don’t think it would be good management, good government for us to talk specifically about let’s look at a specialized rate for micro-breweries.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very much aware of the social impact of alcohol in the Northwest Territories. Sitting on the standing committee, I see all too well all the issues around the Northwest Territories. I believe that this is not impeding this. We’re talking about an industry. Cleary, this government has an opportunity to do the right thing and to re-evaluate this tax regime on micro-brewery manufacturing in the Northwest Territories.
Will the Minister commit to re-examining this tax regime and to bring our tax system with what is considered standard best practice for this type of small-scale brewery?
If this House represented by the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning writes to us as a government, to me as the Minister of Finance saying that it is the will of this Legislature that we look at adjusting the prices of alcohol to be more favourable to the producers of the alcohol, then of course we will look at engaging in that discussion. But I would point out it will not just be focused on the business opportunity that may be provided by providing some kind of tax incentive to a micro-brewery, that I would suggest that it would become a much more fundamental policy discussion.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions today for the Minister of Human Resources. I’d like to ask some questions about the policies that I referenced in my Member’s statement.
I’d like to, first of all, ask the Minister in regard to the Human Resources Manual. I found it extremely difficult to get information when I was researching policies in HR, and I found the HR Manual had absolutely no information on voluntary separation. I had to then go and find a number of policies elsewhere, which I did find but took a little digging.
I’d like to, first of all, ask the Minister why do we not have all HR policies in the HR Manual so everything is in one place?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister of HR, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The section on voluntary separation, the Staff Retention Policy and so on are in the Collective Agreement that we have with the UNW. The voluntary separation is also a policy that we’ve discussed with the UNW as per the Collective Agreement, and it’s in Section 27 of the Public Service Act. However, why they are not all consolidated, if they are not all consolidated in the HR Manual, I don’t have the answer for that at this time. But I will ensure that if there are policies that are scattered around in the act or in the agreement and not all in the Human Resources Manual, I will ensure that they are put under one consolidated manual.
I couldn’t quite hear the Minister at the end but I thought he said that he was going to encompass in the HR Manual all the policies, all the various policies that we have, the one for voluntary separation, the one for affected employees. I can’t remember the names, but there are two or three other ones.
Is that what the Minister said, that he is going to encompass all policies in the HR Manual, and if that’s the case, when will that be done?
Anything that should be appropriately reflected in the HR Manual, if we have to take sections of policy out of the act and so on and incorporate them into the manual, we will do that. I will have the department begin work on that as soon as it is possible for them to begin work on that.
Thanks to the Minister. There are specific policies that are listed, so I don’t think we have to take anything out of an act. I heard him say when we’re going to start but I didn’t hear an end date, so that will be interesting.
I’d like to ask the Minister another question about it. I don’t believe this is a policy, but it’s something that has come to my attention. I do believe that we have a fair number of GNWT employees who work for the GNWT but do not live in the NWT. They have moved out. They may be contracted on an annual basis but they are not living here. They are working from home in Calgary, in Montreal, in Edmonton, any number of different places.
I’d like to ask the Minister, do we have a policy or is there a policy that governs NWT employees, GNWT employees who do not live here but work for the GNWT?
There are individuals who would work for the GNWT who would have their jobs specifically in a down south location; however, employees who work for the GNWT who have their jobs here should be working here. I’ve only heard of one employee who was working at a distance, and that was an individual who was working in Alberta for the GNWT, and I was looking into that to see how that was possible and why that was happening. My preference, of course, and the preference of this government is that if the individuals are working for the GNWT, then they be located at their job sites in the NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
I would ask the Minister to look into this a little further. I think he ought to check with managers of every department and find out. There are, from what I understand, a number of people who work from home and their home is not in the NWT.
I’d like to ask the Minister, if he says that he’s looking into this and he thinks people should be working here, if we do have employees who live outside the NWT, I find it very hard to understand how that fits in with our policy of 2,000 people in the NWT in the next five years. How does it fit in that we allow this to happen?
I agree with the Member that people working for the GNWT who have their jobs in the NWT should be living in the NWT. If we have situations beyond the one that I am currently looking into where there are other people who are working for the various departments at a distance from outside the Northwest Territories, then I would immediately have our deputy of HR start discussions with the heads of departments where these employees may be employed and find out why that situation exists and how we’re going to find a way to remedy that problem.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
