Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am providing an update on easing public health restrictions as we move toward lifting the public health emergency on April 1st. We have seen a steady decline in cases in the NWT since the midJanuary peak after, but not before, Omicron produced over three times the number of new COVID19 infections compared to all previous waves of the virus combined in the NWT.
Given the decline in cases, the Chief Public Health Officer is easing public health restrictions. Effective tomorrow, leisure travel will resume. Anyone will be able to travel into the NWT, regardless of vaccination status. All indoor and outdoor gathering restrictions will be lifted. The proof of vaccine program, which enabled businesses and organizations to apply for increased capacity, will end.
Mr. Speaker, the Chief Public Health Officer has always been guided by the most current scientific evidence to ease public health restrictions. I am confident that we have the tools in place to help keep residents safe because we all realize COVID19 is not going away. Some restrictions will remain throughout March until the public health emergency ends, including wearing face masks in indoor public places, mandatory isolation if you have COVID19 or are sharing a household with a person who has COVID19, and reporting positive COVID19 tests. In addition, any outofterritory traveller will be required to get tested the day they enter the NWT and 72 hours later if they are going to a small community, working or volunteering with vulnerable or highrisk populations, or arriving from outside Canada.
Throughout the pandemic, we have all had to change the way we live our lives. We have missed work, school, weddings, birthday parties, feasts, and celebrations. Many of us have struggled to maintain our mental health. We grieve the loss of 19 NWT residents to the virus. I want to extend my sincere condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one or friend.
Mr. Speaker, vaccination is still the best way to protect the health of residents and prevent further disruption to our lives. I encourage everyone 12 years of age and older, who had their second dose at least six months ago, to get a booster. Boosters provide maximum protection against severe illness and death. This is very important for those at high risk, especially elderly residents, those with chronic health conditions, and pregnant women.
As of last week, 81 per cent of the eligible NWT population is now fully vaccinated and 51 per cent of adults have received boosters. I would like to thank everyone who made the decision to get vaccinated and have their children vaccinated.
Mr. Speaker, over the last two years, every NWT resident has made sacrifices to adapt to COVID19. We are all tired of the pandemic and of the public health measures that have been necessary to keep us safe. Throughout these two years, NWT residents have learned how to protect themselves and how to manage their own risk. We are now at the point where we must turn a corner and encourage residents to evaluate risks for themselves and set their safety nets. It is time to end the public health emergency because the risks associated with COVID19 are no longer the emergency they once were. We are in the process of determining what services and resources will be required to be ready to respond to COVID19 outbreaks.
I want to again take this opportunity to thank health and social services staff for their tireless work in providing top quality care for NWT residents.
Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the trucking sector is an important industry here in the Northwest Territories. Our communities and residents rely on this sector to deliver essential supplies to northern communities every day. At the same time, the health and safety of NWT residents is a top priority of the Government of the Northwest Territories. We must consider policies that will make our transportation system safer for everyone.
Mr. Speaker, following the Humboldt Broncos bus tragedy in Saskatchewan in 2018, there have been renewed calls for mandatory training for commercial drivers in Canada. All jurisdictions in Canada, the federal government, the Canadian Council of Motor Transportation Administrators, the Canadian Transportation Agency, have all agreed that new national safety standards in entrylevel training are critical for the continued sustainability and advancement in the industry. That is why in late January, the GNWT implemented mandatory minimum training requirements for commercial truck drivers applying for a Class 1 licence for the first time. This training will enhance safety for drivers and the public and align the NWT with other jurisdictions in Canada who have implemented entrylevel training for Class 1 drivers.
In January of 2019, public engagement sessions were held with industry, stakeholders, and the public on this important issue. Our government received feedback regarding its implementation on how the program might be designed to best meet the needs of Northerners while remaining consistent with similar programs in other jurisdictions.
Targeted stakeholder engagement was held in October of 2021 with NWT driving schools and trucking companies. The purpose of this engagement was to share information about progress being made to implement entrylevel training, gather feedback, and answer questions. These engagement sessions showed there is strong public support for mandatory entrylevel training for Class 1 drivers in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, this new mandatory training will consist of class curriculum, incab training and inyard training, and NWT residents will be able to get that training in the North. The GNWT is working with driving schools interested in seeking approval to become training providers in the territory. Entrylevel training is available and being offered by Aurora College at this time.
Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Workers' Safety Compensation Commission.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to share some details about a new initiative led by the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission, called Safe Workplace, launched this year in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Safe Workplace is a health and safety program that recognizes employers for their workplace safety performance and helps others identify areas to improve.
As part of this program, every year employers must file their annual payroll numbers with the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission and complete a health and safety questionnaire. This year, the deadline for sending that information to the WSCC is today, February 28.
To qualify, employers must meet criteria based on legislated requirements under the Workers' Compensation Act, Safety Act, and Mine Health and Safety Act. Employers accredited by a thirdparty occupational health and safety program in the Northwest Territories are considered an advanced safe workplace.
Safe Workplace employers are listed on WSCC's website and receive a safe workplace or advanced safe workplace certificate and digital badge to display on their worksite or on their website and printed materials.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this pandemic has been unforgiving. In Canada, to date, there have been more than 36,000 deaths.
The effect of this pandemic has, in part, helped fuel addictions and overdoses in this country. Data from the Government of Canada's document "Opioid and StimulantRelated Harms in Canada" states that between 2016 and 2021 there has been approximately 24,600 plus deaths throughout Canada. It is mostly impacting those between 20 to 49 years of age, with males accounting for 75 percent of deaths. Without health supports, the result of opioid addiction may well be death.
Mr. Speaker, over the past several months there are families in the NWT who have lost loved ones to addictions and the illicit drug trade. They did not have to die. They found themselves caught up in a situation that they were unable to control on their own. I know many people with addictions who, I believe, are good people and who do reach out in their own way for help. It is up to us to recognize that call for help and be there for them.
I take personal responsibility for not listening more and not recognizing those cries for help. I know I must also be stronger in my argument for treatment and aftercare supports for those that need it.
Mr. Speaker, as the opioid crisis in the NWT grows, we know it requires, as with any business, supply, distribution, transportation, customers, and payment. In our small tightknit NWT communities, most people know who is transporting, who is selling and who are using, and ask why law enforcement are not making arrests. The answer is that legislation and Charter rights prevent law enforcement from arresting persons based only on assumptions or hearsay. To keep drugs off the street, it is important that law enforcement follow proper procedure when collecting evidence. Failing to do so is a common defence to possession or trafficking charges.
Mr. Speaker, the community of Hay River is asking for enforcement to curb the influx of illicit drugs into the community. The means to accomplish it will be on the shoulders of experienced law enforcement. However, enforcement is only part of the solution. Education, prevention, treatment, and family are the first lines of defence. When we do call in enforcement, that is when we know we are losing the battle.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.
Mr. Speaker, as a child in BC in the 80s, I was one of the first to take part in CARE, an innovative program to raise awareness in young children about inappropriate touching and sexual assault. At that time the messaging around "stranger danger" was the caricature of the flasher in a trench coat lurking in the local park, something that happened to my sister once near our home and to me along my paper route as an 11yearold. Fast forward decades and our young people now face a new "stranger lurking in the dark" in the form of online cyber predators.
Mr. Speaker, since the election, I have made 1200 new friends on Facebook from across the territory. And I love this. It gives me a glimpse into places I never get to, allowing me to better understand life for our residents. However, since that time I have had some disturbing messages come from strangers via the internet. And on Saturday night while relaxing at home, I received a series of messages from someone who wanted to meet me. When they received no response, the messages escalated, eventually leading to a pornographic photograph and vulgar language about what the sender wanted.
Mr. Speaker, this isn’t the first time.
Ever since I ran for MLA, I have received unwanted attention online, including photographs such as this one. Last year on my birthday, just as I was waking up, I received a very shocking inappropriate video from a stranger as a "gift".
Mr. Speaker I often use humour as a coping mechanism so yesterday I took to social media and posted about what had happened. The response was overwhelming and, frankly Mr. Speaker, quite disturbing.
Numerous women responded that they too experience online sexual harassment on a regular basis. A friend private messaged about a recent post in which numerous young women in the NWT shared their stories of a repeat predator in their community. This person is known to police however no action is ever taken, even though he is known to contact girls online as young as 14. Sexual assault is never ok. Sexual assault is any sexual contact or behaviour without consent, and it is a crime.
In 2019, the NWT had the highest rate of sexual assault in the country, at seven times the national rate, and is a major cause of suffering, pain, and trauma for our residents.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is March 1st and will mark a very special day for the people of the NWT. We have reached a point in our fight with COVID19 as we transition from dealing with this as a pandemic into an endemic illness.
It was announced last week that the public health emergency will be coming to an end very soon in the NWT and with the public health orders and, with that, public health orders will also be revised. Among the changes coming into effect tomorrow include no limits on large gatherings as well as a discontinuation of vaccine passports.
Mr. Speaker, after two years of restrictions, this moment has been a long time coming for the people of the NWT. Having said that, I would also like to thank all the healthcare and essential workers who have worked tirelessly to keep us safe and have kept the flow of essential goods and services continuous into our communities over the last two years.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to acknowledge all school and education staff who have worked under very uncertain circumstances as they continue to serve our young people and our communities amid this pandemic. Similarly, I'd like to recognize all students both in Fort Smith and across the territory for their perseverance as they navigated this pandemic while also going to school and trying to complete their education. I know this pandemic has been hard on the mental and emotional health of students, educators, and parents.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues in this House for their cooperation through these troubling times. I would also like to thank our Chief Public Health Officer for all her work and dedication in keeping the people of the NWT safe. Thank you as well to the Premier and the COVID Secretariat for enforcing the public health restrictions and providing oversight during the pandemic. And thank you to Minister Green and the Department of Health for keeping our jurisdiction among the lowest of deaths due to COVID19. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. It’s time for another statement on the millions of dollars of preventable liabilities our government will assume from our mismanagement of the Cameron Hills gas field owned by Strategic Oil and Gas.
The field consists of 50 well sites, winter roads, summer allterrain vehicle trails, a gas and oil gathering system, a central battery, temporary and permanent camps, airstrips, borrow pits, bridges, and a pipeline into Alberta. A class A water licence and a type A landuse permit cover its activities in the NWT. Other authorizations include 15 production licences and 11 of the infamous significant discovery licences in the Northwest Territories.
Production stopped in February 2011. It went into creditor protection in 2019, and finally into receivership in 2020. We accepted this site under the Devolution Agreement without full financial security and without an approved closure plan.
Despite a mandate commitment from the 18th Assembly to develop "a sound financial security system to prevent public liabilities", nothing was done to prevent this.
As far as I can tell, the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board gave conditional approval to the fourth version of the closure and reclamation plan in January 2020, and it is still waiting for the significant improvements to be done before final approval. Once the amended plan is accepted, a full reclamation cost estimate will be conducted and financial security will finally be recalculated, although I don't think there is any money to cover it. Surely our government must have some idea by now of how many millions of dollars this mess will cost NWT taxpayers.
The last inspection report by the Department of Lands dated January 2021 shows unacceptable conditions at the site. Emergency spills were required to prevent larger unauthorized releases from the camp sewage lagoon and the surface runoff retention pond.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I will follow up from my Member statement I delivered on housing in Whati from February 24th.
Okay, I am concerned that the Housing Corporation is overassessing the value of homes, that the Housing Corporation is signing mortgage agreements with people that do not reflect the actual market value of the house. So people living in small communities already facing higher costs of living and less opportunity for employment and income struggle to pay off their mortgages in their lifetime.
When I questioned the Minister of Housing on these outstanding mortgages, the Minister indicated, I would like to deal with these files and try to close them up before the end of this government. Mr. Speaker, that is a very positive statement. However, the Minister also indicated that writing off any debts has to go through the procedures set in the Financial Management Act.
In this act, we can see the government follows a process through the Financial Management Board to write off Government of the Northwest Territories assets or debts or obligation owed to the government. There is also a process to forgive debts and obligations. Mr. Speaker, this standard of forgiving or writing off debts should apply to the longterm mortgages, housing arrears, as well as property taxes that are not likely to be collected or are financially unreasonable or unjust to the clients.
Mr. Speaker, we know other agency of government such as the Business Development Investment Corporation forgive debts. In a recent BDIC report, annual report, it states that the FMB may approve the forgiveness of debts of forgiven debts is removed from the financial management, but from the financial statement as the BDIC is no longer able to collect.
Mr. Speaker, over the last five years the BDIC removed $4.9 million from their financial statements in support of 21 businesses. I would like to see the Housing Corporation do the same.
According to BDIC annual report Mr. Speaker, can I have unanimous consent to conclude, please.
Unanimous consent granted
According to BDIC annual report, in 20162017 BDIC relieved five accounts totally $840,000. In 20172018, BDIC relieved nine accounts at $3.9 million. In 20182019, BDIC relieved four accounts totalling $420,000. In 20192020, BDIC relieved three accounts totalling $358,000. In 2021, no accounts were written off or forgiven.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a lot of changes I would like to make to the Liquor Act, too numerous to list in one Member's statement, but the short form would be "see Europe", Mr. Speaker. I dream of allowing minors in pubs and, you know, perhaps being able to share some wine in the park. However, I don't think that those ideas have majority support in this House so my next compromise, Mr. Speaker, would be "see BC" where you have private liquor stores. God, how I dream, Mr. Speaker, of ending the monopoly on liquor and getting rid of the liquor commission.
Additionally, perhaps the Brew Pub could be able to sell some beer at farmer's market or maybe even you could serve some alcohol at a farmer's market. However, Mr. Speaker, I still don't believe that those ideas would have support in this House. So I believe there is a solution and the solution is in communitybased decisions. A number of jurisdictions have devolved more and more powers to municipalities. And in fact, in Vancouver, a number of beaches have designated public drinking areas. That was a bylaw passed by the City of Vancouver. Perhaps we could let the City of Yellowknife serve beer and I could have a beer at the main stage at Folk on the Rocks.
A bit of a tangent here, Mr. Speaker, it's actually proven that beer gardens cause people to drink more. And many festivals, when allowed to get rid of their beer gardens, then implemented them again because they before losing sales. When you put everyone in a designated corral and say that's the only place to drink, binge drinking occurs, Mr. Speaker.
However, Mr. Speaker, I think there is a lot of changes and a lot of conversations to happen. Perhaps the liquor store could be open on Sunday. Perhaps it could be open on election day. Perhaps corner stores could sell alcohol, or grocery stores, Mr. Speaker, but I think the way to do this is to allow our communities to make those decision.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a week ago today I raised the mandatory vaccination policy. The GNWT has its own, but the thing with the mandatory vaccination policy it stems from the federal government and usually all provinces or territories mirror federal government policies. And so it spread into the Northwest Territories and the Northwest Territories modified theirs and called it COVID19 vaccination policy. And within that policy, employees were required to be fully vaccinated by January 31st, 2022, or they risk losing their jobs. That's not false; it's there. You just got to read between the lines because it's saying that all over the place. And also, there's also reference to the mandatory vaccinations list. It's like a secret list or something that's within the GNWT. That's also related to termination of GNWT employees who did not choose, because people have a right to choose. They chose not to be vaccinated, and everybody knows the sentiments that were going around at that time, that this was just an experimental drug, Mr. Speaker. And I'm going to have questions for the Minister of Human Resources regarding the policies related to GNWT employees. Mahsi.
Thank you, member for Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am going to be reading the eulogy of Colin Allen Senior.
Colin Allen Senior was born in Aklavik on December 25th, 1935. He is the youngest child of eight to Colin and Ida Kasoun. Colin's father passed away before he was born so his Mom took her children and moved back to her parents Minnie Nakamuk and Harry Enakoluk. It was here that he learned his love of living off the land. Around 1942, Colin went to school in Aklavik and while in school, he learned how to read and fondly remembers reading Dick and Jane. He felt that being able to read this book was enough education for him so he left and returned to his grandfather to help work on the land without him allowing himself to get proper education. It was very important to him for his children and his grandchildren to have a good education.
When he was 14 years old, he and Shorty Stanley Gordon worked for the RCMP schooner called St. Roche and hauled fresh water ice for drinking by dog team. This is where he learned to play crib and later became one of his favorite activities to pass time.
In the spring of 2016 Colin went to Vancouver, BC, and was able to visit St. Roche. He was able to tour the boat and share many stories with the staff and told them exactly what the boat did way back in the day. Colin was very proud of this event. It has provided opportunity for him to share stories, which he was very good at doing.
On June 17th, 1954, Colin moved to East Three from the family trapline at Classic Camp by Shallow Bay. He worked for Dusty Miller for two years alongside of Richard Kendi then went to school in a five twelve in Inuvik for carpentry.
This course was supposed to be four years but he completed it in two. Because Colin got his ticket, he was given the duty as supervisor and supervised a crew to frame the carpenter shop. Once that was finished, him and Andrew Joe put the roofing on it and finished.
With the work ethic he had, he was always asked to do different tasks around town while Inuvik was starting to be built. He worked jackhammer all day testing the ground to begin building East Three, build eight houses at Happy Valley before it became a campground, built the warehouses across from Home Hardware, built the yellow railings around town, foreman to build the Mad Trapper. This is just to name a few. If you took Colin out for a drive around town, he would tell you stories about everything every time, and he was very proud to share how Inuvik became.
In April of 1955, Colin was one of many supervisors cutting brush to help make the road from town to the Inuvik airport. In the winter, he helped cut the trail from Inuvik to Aklavik and moved three tent camps as they went to make the winter road. It was never used as the government made an ice road instead.
In 1958, Colin worked for Poole Construction building Sam School, Grolier Hall, Stringer Hall Chapel and benches as an apprentice under Jim MacDonald. It was at this job site where he met the love of his life, Rita Rogers.
Rita and Colin were married on April 19, 1960. Together they had eight children Clara, Timothy, Dorothy, Darlene, Donna, Don, Dixie, and Colin Junior. Having a full house of children, it was busy but lots of love. Their priority was to ensure that their children were taken care of by working hard and to provide teaching them to live on the land as much as they can and by making sure all the kids went to school every day. Education was very important during these years.
Rita and Colin took in many others who were attending school at Grolier Hall and Stringer Hall. After their children moved out and had families of their own, Rita and Colin took in teenagers through social services and tried to get them to finish school and learn to live on the land as well.
Some of Colin's favorite things to do was watch baseball, check the river, play bingo, play cards, jig, waltz, and call out square dances.
Within the last year, Colin was in and out of the hospital. As things were changing quickly with his health and physical wellbeing, he would mention that he was not sure how much longer he was going to stay with his family as he began to feel sickly and no longer could a lot of the things that he enjoyed. During the last few months his body was deteriorating, he never complained once about the pain.
Mr. Speaker, as this was read by two of his grandchildren and they all called him dad, I will use the words as I read their closing.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Our thoughts and prayers continue with the family and the community at this time. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on the final day of the 18th Assembly, the government quietly tabled a study. The study was a strategic response to the municipal funding gap. It contained some dire findings. Specifically, it showed that from 2014 to 2019, despite increased GNWT funding of over $8 million, the municipal funding gap was basically unchanged at $40 million. Communities' cost to maintain and replace infrastructure grew faster than the GNWT's funding. And that study showed that from 2014 to 2019, community infrastructure costs increased by an average of $2.7 million per year.
In comparison, in the 19th Assembly the government has the mandate commitment to increase community government funding by $5 million over four years. That's an average of only $1.25 million per year. It's clear that the government is not actually reducing the municipal funding gap. While the mandate commitment for $5 million is a lot of money, it's not keeping up with rising costs. Mr. Speaker, it's not even keeping up with the rate of inflation today.
The persistence of the funding gap is disappointing and has real costs on people's lives. Aging water infrastructure in Behchoko is case in point. Residents have brown water and frozen waterlines. Even the school has had to close, Mr. Speaker.
Addressing the gap is also an opportunity. According to the Conference Board of Canada, closing the funding gap would create an additional 220 jobs in infrastructure, construction, environmental services, municipal government services, and infrastructure repair. This kind of investment creates jobs, generates economic activity, and supports the overall health and wellness of Northerners.
I want to conclude by returning to an exchange I had with the Premier on the floor of this house. At the very beginning of this Assembly when we were choosing our Premier and Members could ask questions, I asked two. The first was about holding leadership accountable. And the second was about the plan to address the municipal funding gap.
In the Premier's response, one remark stood out. She said, and I quote: It might not be a popular thing within government but I think that at some point we're going to have to redo that study and see where we stand.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I love taxes. I can and want to pay more taxes to help those in need here in the Northwest Territories, in Canada, and elsewhere in the world. I just wish there were others in this House that believed the same, especially on the Cabinet side.
"Taxes are what we pay for civilized society", so said American Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior in 1927. If we truly want better programs and services for the residents of the Northwest Territories, a more sustainable financial future, a just and compassionate society, and a planet we can pass on to our children, we must be willing to raise and pay more taxes. A good government does its best to ensure an equitable distribution of resources. I'm sorry to say we have collectively failed and this budget does very little to move us in the right direction.
I had to push very hard to get the Minister of Finance to prepare and then post a revenue options discussion paper last year. The paper was finally released just two or three days before the public engagements that were held on the 20222023 budget that is before us. The current budget offers this throwaway statement with regard to taxes: "We will continue to monitor the data on who is paying taxes in the territory and on what kinds of income. At the moment, we have only a small number of individuals who could potentially be in a higher tax bracket." The other reason for not adding a higher income tax bracket is the "substantial risk to our competitive position". Let’s look at the facts, Mr. Speaker.
The finance minister's revenue options paper shows that the Northwest Territories is one of only six Canadian jurisdictions that have less than five income tax brackets. We have got three.
We had the second lowest combined top marginal personal income tax rates in the country, more than 5 percent below the average. If the GNWT brought in a new high income tax bracket of 16 percent for those earning $200,000 or more taxable income, it would affect 420 taxpayers the top 1 percent. It would raise their taxes on average about $2200 a year and bring in another $1 million in revenue. That’s not a lot but it should be the beginning of a more serious look at tax fairness, something this Cabinet started with a reduction in small business taxes that cost our government $1.4 million with no effort to replace those revenues.
Another highincome tax rate bracket would also help to replace the corporate resource giveaway earlier in the life of this Assembly when the ITI minister gave a 15year significant discovery licence to Husky Oil, with no rental fees, costing us $21 million in lost revenues.
What other opportunities are there to raise more revenues?
The promise of devolution and more resource revenues has been a dismal failure. Low commodity prices and financial uncertainties are partly to blame but our chronically low resource royalties are the biggest problem. ITI contracted a report that applied an internationallyaccepted framework for managing natural resources in 2017. That study gave our fiscal regime for mining a failing grade in terms of revenue generation. "The NWT has one of the world's most charitable fiscal regimes for the mining sector, one that captures 20 to 30 percent of economic rents from mining projects, net of costs. This is compared to between 30 to 35 percent in South Africa, 45 to 60 percent in Peru, and 50 to 80 percent in Western Australia."
A more recent study commissioned by the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment found that "the NWT sells its nonrenewable resources more cheaply than most other jurisdictions in the world" and "we find that the aftercost share of revenues to the government (the government take) is around 36 percent, with 22 percent for the NWT and 14 percent for the federal government.
The International Monetary Fund suggests that a government should expect 40 to 60 percent from a mining project. We are simply giving away our resources when we should be maximizing the benefits. The recently released discussion and research papers on mining royalties are so vague and biased that it is hard to see how any meaningful public engagement is going to take place. Regular MLAs and the public have yet to see a real plan and schedule for the development of regulations under the Mineral Resources Act. The snailspace development of royalty regulations by this Cabinet has little chance of being completed during our term and resources will simply continue to be shipped out of here without maximizing revenues and benefits for NWT residents, let alone future generations.
Other new revenue resources our government needs to more seriously consider include a capital tax on financial institutions. We are only one of five jurisdictions without such a tax in Canada. Our wildly fluctuating corporate taxes are a lousy way to capture benefits from resource development and should be supplemented with a resource tax or capital investment tax.
There is no mention in the entire budget of any efforts to stabilize or increase any revenue sources. We need to start to have a real public debate about options to raise revenues, including an updated territorial formula funding arrangement that allows us to keep more, if not all, of our own source revenues.
Some, and perhaps many, will say that a pandemic is not a good time to introduce new taxes or increase taxes but our current path is completely unsustainable and we need to have that debate. I would argue now is the best time to examine our core values of sharing, justice, equity and whether these are truly reflected in our revenue efforts as we recover and rebuild.
Another way to spend more on our programs and services for those that need them the most is to reduce our capital spending. I won't go on too long about this as I covered a lot during the debate on the capital estimates. There is no use trying to spend money on projects during a pandemic when about half that money is carryovers from previous years, and we still don't have significant improvements in our procurement process to better retain benefits.
The spending priorities in the capital budget, especially on questionable projects such as Taltson Expansion and the Slave Geological Province, do not reflect my priorities or our collective needs such as housing. Treat housing like it's a megaproject, and provide the jobs we say we're pursuing with the big projects. We can't do it all and we need to focus on people and their housing needs, not megaprojects with no funding, no business cases, and no buyers. We simply cannot afford them all at once, even if the federal government gave us or other potential partners all the money. There would be lots of costs in simply managing these projects after completion. Just look at the $12 million a year that the GNWT must pay each and every year for another 25 years for the Tlicho AllSeason Road. Those project payments are eating into our ability to spend on programs and services. Stop the spending on these wasteful large projects now and use that funding on housing, education, and healthcare that will make a real difference in people’s lives. If Cabinet has to have one megaproject, use a phased approach for the Mackenzie Valley Highway to ensure that we can maximize local benefits.
The government renewal initiative has slowed down and I've yet to see any results. While I support the concept of program evaluation and review, this work cannot possibly find spending cuts to fund our unsustainable path when there is overspending on capital, growing debt, and no willpower to raise more revenues.
In terms of the budget process, I can say that the relationship and negotiations with Cabinet over financial matters have been cordial and respectful, a much different and welcome change from the previous Assembly. I have recommended several times, to no avail, that it would be more helpful to have a meeting with the Minister of Finance and Regular MLAs to discuss priority areas for increased funding prior to the development of a budget. That didn't happen but I would again encourage the Minister to do this next year to ensure Regular MLA input much earlier into the process.
While I appreciate the difficulty of trying to carry out prudent fiscal management during a pandemic, we are facing a fiscal crisis despite anything said to the contrary by the finance minister. We just had our debt limit increased to $1.8 billion and in this budget we will be at $1.7 billion.
Debt continues to increase at a pace greater than our revenues and spending. I agree with my colleague from Yellowknife North and others in this House that I had hoped for a substantial increase in the funding for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation that has failed to materialize in this budget. Of course we are still waiting for a plan to get our residents out of core housing needs, something I've been waiting for for about five years now.
I believe there are ways to fund more work on housing through the tax increases and other revenue options I mentioned earlier. I also believe that there is room to reduce some travel expenditures further and contracted services as well. There are some staffing increases in the Department of Finance that I think we can do without so we can redirect those funds to some of the priorities of Regular MLAs as well.
Much of the funding for the COVID Secretariat functions are likely not necessary given the pace at which the public health emergency is going to be lifted as mentioned even earlier today by the Minister of Health and Social Services.
I can support some of the new funding in this budget for healthcare, reducing the municipal funding gap even if the additions don't keep pace with inflation, the support for vulnerable populations, education, and childcare. Some of the economic initiatives could be better focused on diversifying our economy.
I am increasingly worried at the lack of progress on completing the ongoing Indigenous land rights negotiations and implementation of the agreements already in place. There is apparently around $1 million for new work on barrenground caribou although I am eagerly awaiting details, especially to see if this government is finally going to do something about habitat protection.
There is little to no mention of the untapped potential of arts and culture to diversify the economy. This is nobrainer in my opinion, and there isn't even a whisper of it in this budget. The vague arts strategy should have been used to help identify opportunities for investment and spur on economic recovery but there is nothing in this budget for that work.
Thank you, Members, we will take a short recess.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of Justice confirm if there has been, throughout this pandemic, any measured rise in drug trade in the NWT and has it resulted in a corresponding increase in drug enforcement or staff? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So during 2020, we saw an increase in drug trade, and there's been a trend over the last number of years of increases in that trend. That being said, there are, you know, new resources in this proposed budget for the RCMP. There have been new RCMP in Hay River in the last few years, and we have more RCMP per person than anywhere else in Canada. We have twice as many RCMP per person as most places in Canada. So I'm not sure that the issue is something we can arrest our way out of, but we definitely have a significant amount of enforcement already in the territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm if the direction this government is taking to combat the drug trade in the NWT working; do we need to reevaluate the department's approach and the RCMP's approach? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If anyone's familiar with the war on drugs in the United States, I think they've spent about a trillion dollars over the past number of decades and they have more people incarcerated for, you know, possession of drugs than anywhere else in the world, and they still have problems. So if this is like I said, this isn't something we can arrest our way out of. Now that being said, the RCMP are well aware of the situation. I know a lot of people measure the success of the RCMP by, you know, the number of maybe drug dealers in their communities. But the fact is that if there's a drug dealer who's arrested and put away, there's going to be another one who takes their place because there is a market. If there is someone who wants to buy drugs, there's going to be someone to sell them those drugs. So the investments that we've seen, not just in the territory but around the world, that have made the most difference are investments in things like helping people who are vulnerable in overnight shelters, in, you know, providing services for people who, you know, might be addicted or at risk of being addicted. So those are the types of investments that we need to focus on. Enforcement is, of course, an important part but it really is those social aspects that we need to focus on. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I talked to persons addicted to drugs, or those that are dealing for that matter, I let them know that I'm willing to work with them to help them move away from that lifestyle. I also let them know that not changing their lifestyle or dealing with the addiction problem would result in one of three things happening, which is being murdered, overdosing, or being incarcerated.
Can the Minister tell me what emphasis is placed on education by law enforcement to convince people that selling drugs in the NWT is not a career path? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I don't have examples of, you know, RCMP giving talks in the schools but the RCMP does do a lot of community outreach. It's a little more prevalent I think in smaller communities where they have more opportunity to have the those oneonones. But I think that it should almost go without saying that it's not a great career, being a drug dealer. And it's not just the RCMP's job to instill that in people. Everyone needs to do that. And so in the education system, we can't just say don't be a drug dealer. We need to say here are some alternatives, these are things you can do. It's one thing to just say no, it's another thing and more successful if you give someone an alternative. So we are working on that as well. Thank you.
