Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct that we do not do that. The complete number is shared as a whole in our books, but this is a conversation since devolution has taken place that we need to have with all residents of the Northwest Territories.
It's a very important one that we have to take. Royalties directly impact the profitability of these mines, and we know we want to get our fair share, but at the same time, we have to protect the industry that we have in the Northwest Territories so that residents can benefit from these economic opportunities. We will continue to look at this as we move forward. It has been separated out of the Mineral Resource Act because we know this is a very big conversation that needs to take place with the residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for his reply. The Minister alluded to the fact that we are undertaking the development of the Mineral Resource Act right now. We have been doing some consulting in regard to that, but more specifically, I am talking about our royalties regime and the taxation regime.
I appreciate that the Minister has indicated that there is some work to be done around that, but I guess the question, then, is: when? When will the government consult with Indigenous governments and the public, for that matter, about the possible change to our taxes and royalties?
We have already had some discussions when we brought the Mineral Resource Act legislation to the intergovernmental council, which looks at lands and resources of the Northwest Territories. The Premier sat down with them, and we have had that discussion. They have agreed with us that we need to pull this out and have a separate conversation about it, and that is why it not a part of the Mineral Resource Act. We want to make sure we get both of these things right, as they are very important to the residents of the Northwest Territories.
There is more than just the royalties side of it. When we have these discussions, people have to look at the whole framework as a whole and consider the fiscal context of this conversation, because there is a lot of misinformation out there. When you start talking about royalties and what these mining companies pay, there is a big difference from one province to province to territory to the other, and there are a lot of things that need to take place.
Again, I appreciate the complexity of this issue. I did not really hear from the Minister as to when they are going to undertake this, but I am going to move ahead for a moment. I think we all recognize that non-renewable resources are very important and the fact that, when we extract them, then that's it. They're gone. I just want to know from the Minister: what work has GNWT done since devolution to evaluate our resource tax and royalty regime to ensure that we are both encouraging development, but also getting our fair share for extraction of publicly-owned resources?
That is exactly what we are doing. As all Members of this House know, we have been moving forward with the Mineral Resource Act since devolution. We want to make this a leading-edge made-in-the-North act that will benefit all Northerners, and in discussions with the intergovernmental council, it was decided that this needs a very detailed comprehensive review of royalty side of things. This is the legislation that we inherited from the federal government. The last time I believe it was updated when it was in their hands was in 2007-2008 roughly. My understanding is most jurisdictions do a 10-year review, but that is not saying that is what we are going to do. We have already said that we want to have a review of this, just that we have separated it out from the Mineral Resource Act, and it has to have its own separate conversation with all residents in industry in the Northwest Territories.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for the additional information. I guess, then, I would like to ask the Minister about how much it is that we are receiving, and does the Minister feel that it is a fair portion? It is estimated that the NWT receives a little over 20 per cent of the resource revenues. Does the government plan to increase the future revenue rates, or do they think that that 20 per cent is fair as is? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I can't tell you exactly the percentage that we get. I would have to get the details from the department, but I can reassure Members in this House that we are about right down the middle of the pipe here with the rest of the country, particularly around the regions that surround the Northwest Territories, and as I have said, we have to take into the context, when we have this review, we have to be able to look at the whole picture and bring in everybody to have this conversation, be it, fuel tax, property taxes. The future of carbon tax in the industry. The lack of infrastructure in the Northwest Territories.
We are very fortunate to have the mines that we do have right now, where they can take their commodity out in a suitcase, but as that context rolls out, where do we want to go with this industry in the Northwest Territories? That's a conversation that we're going to have to have in this House, but also with all residents.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my statement, my question today is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on the NWT Apprenticeship, Trades and Occupational Certification Strategy.
Can the Minister confirm if there have been any discussions with BHP, the prime contractor for the Stanton Hospital, on efforts to meet the objectives as set out in the strategy? Masi.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Members know, we did release the Apprenticeship, Trades and Occupation Certification Strategy in May of last year. The implementation of the strategy is being guided by the advisory committee, as well as working groups comprised largely of industry stakeholders, so I think it's about time that we do get an update, so we will be working with the working groups, as well as the advisory committee to get an update, and we'll be happy to share that information with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks for the response from the Minister here. My next question is: in the issuance of the RFP at the beginning of this project, were there targets set to achieve X number of tradespersons within the project?
One of the focuses of the ATOC Strategy is to create jobs for northern residents where opportunities provide themselves, and I think the project for Stanton was a big part of that, or any of our industry opportunities where our Northerners can get jobs in the industry field. Specifically for this Stanton project, I'm not sure if there were targets set, but I can find that out from my other colleagues here and get back to the Member.
The ATOC Strategy, when we did release it, we wanted to increase participation in the skills, trades, and occupations as well as improving completion rates of anybody who were apprentices or journeyman.
I'm glad to hear the departments are working with the other departments on the other side here to try to achieve the goals as set out in the first RFP process during the procurement. My next question is related to hearing the Minister will provide the information: will the Minister also include in the information what was targeted in the request for the RFP and how much it has produced today in terms of apprentice trades accomplishing their hours?
A strong labour market is critical to the NWT's economic future. We know that there are jobs out there. We have projects that are on the go throughout the Northwest Territories, and we want to provide the skills and the opportunities for Northerners to fill those jobs and be certified and be ready when new opportunities come up.
Specifically for that project, like I said, I don't know the numbers or if there were actually rates and targets that were set, but I can find out that information and get back to the Member. With all large projects in the NWT, we obviously want to have Northerners fill those positions, and with the ATOC Strategy, we are making sure that they have the skills that are needed, the training that is needed, so that they can fill those opportunities.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like the Minister to confirm narrowing it down to four different trades, if that information could be included, third- and fourth-year apprentice individuals for electricians, plumbers, and pipefitters, and also include drywallers as well in the report that he's going to provide. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Presently, we have about 389 apprentices registered in the Northwest Territories. There are also 92 journeyperson certifications that were issued in the 2015-2016 fiscal year, 73 more in 2016-2017, and 54 journeyperson certificates issued to date in the 2017-2018 fiscal year. We do have some of that information, and we can share that information with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a few questions for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment in follow-up to my Member's statement. I would like to ask the Minister: when was the last time government supported prospector training that was held outside the North or South Slave Regions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Industry, Tourism, Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is right. The last few courses have been in the north and south of the region of the Northwest Territories for geological resources that exist in this particular region because of the high mining activity. What I can tell the Member, though, is the last one that we did have, we had members from the Sahtu participate who came down, and they accessed the SEED program to be able to participate in that, and that is an option that, depending on where the next one is, we can actually reach out to the Member to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What can the Minister do to support Aboriginal governments that want to bring prospector training to their communities?
We can certainly work with any local government or Aboriginal organizations or communities that want to bring prospector training to their community. One of the challenges we face, though, is geologists and prospectors, instructors may be familiar with rocks in a particular area and the learning experience needs to be one that is going to benefit the students. One of the things I think that we need to really look at particularly maybe in that region as things move forward to try to find an industry for the Beau-Del is maybe we have some type of regional collaboration with communities and have a look at that and have a more robust group of people participating.
Will we see prospector training offered in the Mackenzie Delta within this calendar year?
As I have said, if we can have a look at this possibly as a regional approach, I do not believe we have anything scheduled in the coming years yet. We are still in the planning stages, and some of this investment that we will need to do is going to be hinged on the budget process as well, Mr. Speaker, but we can certainly have those conversations.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was pleased to see the honourable Member for Yellowknife North speaking about very important issues to me, both mining and transparency. I would like to ask the Minister of Transparency some questions around transparency over the royalty regime and the benefits the mining sector is paying into the Northwest Territories.
In the federal context, there is a piece of legislation called the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act, and this act has created a federal government website that you can look up mining companies and see what payments they had been making to governments including this government. I would like to ask the Minister of Transparency if he is willing to begin work on a similar piece of legislation for our government that would allow transparency over royalty resources in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a complex issue; of course, I certainly would want to discuss this with my colleagues. My understanding was that, in the last year, there were approximately $83 million of royalties obtained from the mining industry in the Northwest Territories; however, there is not an individual breakdown from individual mining companies. I think in the past they have resisted that for the reason that they didn't want to be sharing that kind of information with competitors, because royalty regimes and rates are based often on gross production or profits. Traditionally, in the past, they have not wanted to share that with the public or with competitors, but I think that as Minister of Transparency we have to at least look at this issue. Thank you.
I will remind the honourable Minister that we're the ones who make the rules for the industry. They don't make the rules for themselves. The industry seems to be quite fine to have this information published on a federal website which includes payments made to the GNWT and to Indigenous organizations within the Northwest Territories. If he is not willing to move forward on legislation, will he begin the work on a clear annual statement on how much royalties were received; how much were shared with each Indigenous group; and that this report be tabled annually in the Legislative Assembly? Will he make that commitment?
I don't think I could make that kind of commitment at this time because the royalty regimes are an important part of our revenues. As I say, we do know what the gross amount is. The question is: how much we are getting from each individual mine? As I say, in the past, mines both here and I think in most other jurisdictions have not been willing to share that information. Some of the information can be obtained through other countries, I see, by looking at the overall profits of the parent companies, but I don't think the mines in the Northwest Territories, that are generally subsidiaries of very large international corporations, would be willing to share that information because they would see that as giving information to their competitors and perhaps affecting their competitiveness.
I always appreciate an impassioned defense of secrecy from the Minister of Public Engagement and Transparency. The Chamber of Mines here in the Northwest Territories currently produces reports and does this work to roll up royalty information. The Minister is not willing to bring forward legislation or table a report. Will he at least give a contribution to the Chamber of Mines to do this work on his behalf?
I'm not sure if that request is for a personal donation or a government donation.
Government.
No, I realize this is a serious issue. When the previous questions were asked of the Minister of ITI, I was looking at something called the Bauer Report, which does go into some of the very complex issues surrounding this whole issue of royalties. I can advise that I will be looking at that further and discussing that report and its findings with my colleagues.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to be clear. We're not talking about reviewing the royalty regime. We're talking about publishing the financial transparency around the economic contributions the mining industry is making to the Northwest Territories and to this government. This is something the mining industry does in other jurisdictions. This is something the Chamber of Mines assists with in other jurisdictions. I'm asking the Minister of Transparency if he can help be a leader on fiscal transparency as it relates to the extractive sector, either through legislation, either through annual reporting, or either through contributions to the Chamber of Mines to allow this reporting to be done by the private sector. Will he do any of that or something else that is tangible so we can get these facts brought forward so residents of the Northwest Territories can clearly see and celebrate the immense and tremendous contribution that the mining industry and natural resources make to the economic health and well-being of this territory? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I think we're all aware of the great contribution that the mines do make to our economy and society. We know that as a gross figure, as I understand it, looking at the Bauer Report, I think there was an estimate of approximately $83 million paid in royalties to the Government of the Northwest Territories in the 2017 year. Plus, they also pay many other taxes, land leases, and so on, so they do make a huge contribution.
I think that, before I make any commitment to have the royalties broken down per mine, which I understand is the request from the Member opposite, I would have to see what our arrangements were, whether that would be allowed. I do agree that, as a matter of transparency, it would be better if those facts were known, but we do live in a competitive world, a competitive society, and the mines, to this point, have been averse to releasing that kind of documentation to us. I don't know whether they have a commitment from us that we will not seek that kind of information, but I am willing to look into the matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On February 2nd Transport Canada announced that the Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium will establish a marine training facility in Hay River through partnership with the GNWT. Apparently, this is part of a three-year $12.6 million federal investment under the Oceans Protection Plan. Mr. Speaker, I usually know what's happening in my backyard, but I haven't received any communication about this initiative. It's news to me. I just learned about it when the Minister of Infrastructure responded to questions about MTS earlier this week. I don't know where this facility will be set up, or when it will be operating, or if it's operating already. Hopefully, ITI or Infrastructure will issue a press release or some sort of information in the near future, because I'm already getting media requests about this, and I really don't know much about it.
On its website, the Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium states that it offers a variety of training; deckhand, marine mechanic, bridge officer, fishing masters, et cetera. What types of training will be offered in Hay River, and if the Minister is willing, would he please specify whether or not locals will be engaged in the development of this curriculum? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member said, I mentioned it yesterday in the House. These are very early days for the marine training centre that the Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium has come forward with to locate in our riding in Hay River, which is great news for our constituents in Hay River, and all residents of the Northwest Territories will be able to access a program such as this.
Presently right now, there is a needs assessment under way for courses that are appropriate for the required training. As these guys operate out of Nunavut, and now moving to the Northwest Territories, we are going to have to have a look at the situation in the NWT around the fishers and, in particular, the marine transportation services that we run up and down the river.
My understanding is already, this spring, though, the courses that are intended to roll out right away are going to help the fishers with a small vehicle vessel operator's course, which is going to benefit the fishermen. You've got to remember that these are Transport Canada certified courses, so this ticket will be good right across the country. Then we will also hopefully get our staff in there from the Marine Transportation Services tugs and barge system to be able to access these programs as well, and get them to benefit from that. I think once that rolls out and they get a little bit of water under their feet, so to speak, the general public will be able to take some of these courses, and they will expand as they seem necessary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister is right. This is good news for Hay River, so I'm surprised there wasn't a bit of hoopla about it.
I want to talk about the cost of training. Since the GNWT employs only a handful of people at MTS and the rest are contracted out, I wonder who will pay for these employees who are employed by the contractor, if it's going to have to come out of the employee's own pocket. Then, there are the fishermen. Will the training be through the revitalization strategy? There are a lot of questions. Considering all of that, what will the costs of training be, and who will pay for the training?
As I said, this is a course that is fully funded by Transport Canada. The costs there will be totally absorbed by Transport Canada. It will be an application-based process, and screening will be made to suitable candidates who will be able to take these courses. Once an applicant is accepted, there will be no costs to the student.
