Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
WHEREAS climate change, as a result of greenhouse gas emissions, is one of the most serious environmental, economic and political challenges of our time;
AND WHEREAS global climate change is predicted to result in significant impacts in the North, some of which are already being felt;
AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories, through the NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy, has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 10 per cent below 2001 levels by 2011;
AND WHEREAS the Northwest Territories per capita greenhouse gas emissions are over 50 per cent higher than the national average and amongst the world’s highest;
AND WHEREAS the transportation sector emits 46 per cent of greenhouse gases in the Northwest Territories, which represents the largest single source of emissions;
AND WHEREAS the use of fuel efficient vehicles can contribute to a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions;
AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories has the authority to establish vehicle registration fees;
NOW THEREFORE I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that this Legislative Assembly recommends implementing a tiered vehicle registration system where fees are based on the fuel economy rating of vehicles, thereby encouraging ownership of more fuel-efficient vehicles and supporting the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the Northwest Territories.
The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion, the honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Transportation is in the early stages of designing and implementing a new digital vehicle registration system to be used throughout the Northwest Territories. Given that we’re still in the development phase, now’s the best time to consider a change in how we register vehicles in the NWT so that can be incorporated into the system.
I believe that vehicle registration fees in the Northwest Territories should be changed from a flat rate to a graduated emission based system. This strategy will help the Northwest Territories and Canada meet its targets for greenhouse gas reduction and achieve the goal set by the NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy in 2007. The proposal is an opportunity for the Northwest Territories to be a leader in regulating vehicles to support the immediate need for climate change mitigation.
Mr. Speaker, changing our registration fee policy to a graduated emission based system meets the goals set out in the NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy by increasing the awareness of climate change and the need to control emissions, engaging all Northerners who register a vehicle and promoting the use of more efficient equipment and technology. This is a practical action that can be taken immediately with long term results of sustained reduction in emissions. These alone are strong reasons for the GNWT to consider changing our vehicle registration policy to reflect our priority of climate change mitigation.
The GNWT’s strategic plan identifies the need to coordinate efforts to ensure sustainable development. If development increases at its current rate, the Northwest Territories will triple its emissions within the next three to five years. We can counter this by promoting the use of environmentally responsible vehicles.
A new emission based registration system would also advance current initiatives already in place by both the territorial and federal governments. It gives us an opportunity to work proactively with residents, communities and industries on the mitigation of climate change. In addition, now that the ecoAUTO rebate program offered by the federal government has been cancelled effective December 31, this could take its place as an incentive for Northerners to buy environmentally responsible vehicles.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has announced that it will introduce new regulations for fuel consumption for cars and light trucks starting in 2011. The new standard will meet or exceed the one proposed by the United States of 6.7 litres per hundred kilometres. Some provinces, such as British Columbia, will also introduce new vehicle emission strategies in their spring session — report standards that approach the state of California’s proposed 5.3 litres per hundred kilometres.
The transportation sector accounts for roughly 25 per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions and 18 per cent of the emissions in the Northwest Territories. The NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy identifies that if 10 per cent of the NWT vehicles were replaced by mid-sized hybrids, emissions would be reduced significantly.
While greenhouse gas emissions for vehicles is a complex problem, changing our registration fees to directly address emissions would be a step in the direction of territorial and federal climate change mitigation goals. It would also make it easier for Northerners to adapt to future federal regulations.
The Northwest Territories does not perform emission testing on vehicles, nor does it currently have a graduated registration policy in place like most other jurisdictions. The majority of Canadian provinces have tiered registration systems, which classify vehicles in a variety of ways. Some do it by weight. Some jurisdictions, such as B.C., tend to follow the state of California’s tailpipe emissions approach, dividing their fleet of vehicles into two groups: passenger cars and light duty trucks, and larger trucks and SUVs.
The United Kingdom classifies its vehicles by brands with carbon dioxide per kilometre and charges fees at a rate that averages one imperial pound per gram of carbon dioxide per kilometre for most vehicles. Every litre of fuel burned emits approximately 2,300 grams of carbon dioxide. Owners of alternative fuel vehicles or fuel efficient vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, which consumes on average about 4 litres per hundred kilometres, are charged an almost negligible fee of up to 35 British pounds, or $72 Canadian, per year. Vehicles cost up to 400 British pounds, or $822 Canadian, a year if they register vehicles that emit 226 grams of carbon dioxide or more per kilometre.
I’m not suggesting we go to the same extreme as the United Kingdom; I believe that we should rate vehicles in the Northwest Territories by how many litres it takes to go 100 kilometres. This is easy to calculate, as that information is included in manufacturers’ specifications.
In discussing this motion with other Members, some have indicated they’re concerned that the graduated system would affect small, isolated communities negatively — communities where the majority of vehicles are often four wheel drive pickup trucks. In small, isolated communities these vehicles are appropriate given the road conditions, where small vehicles low to the ground would only last a couple of weeks.
A graduated registration system does not have to be a significant disadvantage to small communities. One way to address this concern is to have a two-tiered instead of a multi-tiered system. For example, this government could implement a system where vehicles ranging from better than nine litres per hundred kilometres in the city —vehicles like the Toyota Prius, the Ford Focus and any other small cars and hybrids — could be charged less than the existing rate of $89 per year, somewhere around maybe $55 to $65. Vehicles ranging from 9.1 litres per hundred kilometres or worse in the city — vehicles such as the Ford F150, Chevy Silverado and most SUVs — would be charged the existing rate of $89 per year, which results in no change in the majority of the smaller communities.
As a note, I’ve recently travelled to Fort Resolution, Fort Smith, Hay River, Fort Simpson, Fort McPherson, Délînê, Inuvik, Norman Wells and Behchoko, and at each of these communities, with the exception of Délînê and Fort McPherson, I saw a large number of vehicles that would definitely fall into the lower registration category. With respect to Délînê and Fort McPherson, I wasn’t there long enough, and I didn’t have an opportunity to look around town, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were vehicles in those communities that fall into the lower rate criteria.
This is a sort of registration system that allows Northerners to choose which vehicles they’d wish to buy but also gives them incentive to make environmentally responsible choices. If this sort of action is taken by other jurisdictions, it will put significant pressure on the auto industry to develop products that meet the need for cost effective, environmentally responsible vehicles.
Basing territorial registration fees on emissions is consistent with the GNWT’s strategic plan for an environment that will sustain present and future generations, the GNWT’s target for reduced emissions by 10 per cent by 2011, and the federal government’s new standards for vehicles. It allows for flexibility and choice while still promoting environmental responsibility. It is an opportunity for the Northwest Territories to lead the way on climate change mitigation and will result in sustained long term reduction of emissions. I’m putting this motion forward and supporting it because I think it’s the right thing to do.
I’m not saying what the tiered rates should be. I believe that if this motion is passed, the Department of Transportation should conduct research into other jurisdictions, develop a reasonable rate structure that factors in the reality of small communities, and bring that proposed rate structure back to the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure for consideration and debate. I encourage Cabinet, as well as Members on this side of the House, to support this motion and demonstrate that we care about our environment and are committed to meeting our targets for greenhouse gas reductions and achieving the goals set by the NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy in 2007.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. I’ll go the seconder of the motion, the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seconded the motion proudly because I believe in this initiative. My wife and I bought a hybrid vehicle two years ago. I can tell you that when we were there, the salesperson said: where do you live? I said: we live in Yellowknife. He felt at that time, due to the analysis, that a hybrid vehicle might not necessarily give us the best payback. But that’s not how we run our family. We said that this is a smart, economical choice, and we’re making choices because we’re thinking of tomorrow as opposed to just today.
I would encourage any incentives that could be brought forward by this government that would encourage people to choose eco-friendly decisions. They make sense. Every step in the right direction — with a carrot approach, as opposed to a stick approach — is the right way to do to this. This approach, by asking for a tiered system, says clearly that our government believes that if you’re making smart choices, better choices for the environment…. Let’s help reward people with that type of choice.
In closing, I want to emphasize that a northern made system does not necessarily mean we have to penalize the existing vehicles that are out there. It’s finding a way to encourage people to use and manage their choices just a little better. That’s why I’m in full support of redeveloping a new vehicle registration system that is sound and makes sense in the North.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. To the motion, the honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate this opportunity to address you. I want to start by thanking the Member for Great Slave for bringing this forward.
The context within which he brings this forward is important. Climate change is happening throughout the world. It’s a global issue. We know what some of the costs are. We’re starting to have an idea of what some of the costs will be. We’re talking about loss of some of our wildlife species and fish, some of our reliable water sources and perhaps, most importantly, our climate. Our climate is becoming very unreliable and relatively extreme compared to what it has been.
There are also global impacts associated with climate change. The contribution of vehicles is probably the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. I think this is a good motion in that it starts us towards thinking about that and making wise choices when we purchase our vehicles.
I think we have a responsibility as a government to provide leadership on this and, certainly, to provide a stable and safe environment in the future. That’s uncertain at this point given climate change, although we have a small window of opportunity to address that.
I again regard this as a modest but very symbolic step in our work to address climate change. I want to recognize that this is put together by this Member as a step that would benefit all the people of the Northwest Territories. It would signal a new awareness and progressive approach to becoming responsible global citizens within the context of our own communities.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. To the motion, the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will not be supporting the motion. I believe this motion is going a little too far, especially with the impact it’s going to have on our small communities where we depend on the good old pickup trucks to get around. Those are our work trucks; they’re not just a luxury item. In most cases we do have potholes. We don’t have just a few speed bumps on the way. Most of our highways are gravel and rough. I think someone with a hybrid trying to operate under that condition, or even a Lexus for that matter, will have a real problem in navigating themselves on the roads we have to travel on.
It’s important to realize that this is just one tax of many taxes that we see on the horizon. Until we know what the picture is in regard to the global issues by way of enforcing this type of legislation, but not imposing it strictly on the type of livelihood that you have or where you live, and not having the luxury of driving on paved roads….
I think you also have to realize that there are 12,000 truckloads that drive up our highway systems to the diamond mines, yet nothing in this legislation is going to affect that industry. They’re shipping 12,000 truckloads of diesel fuel to these diamond mines, and nothing’s been done in that case. I think it’s important to realize we have some bigger polluters out there than little Joe and Mary trying to run up the hills to get a load of wood.
I think it’s important that this government takes a comprehensive approach in regard to these different initiatives of tax increases, raising fuel taxes, or considering alternative tax implications. At the end of the day the bottom line for people living in small communities is what effect this has on the high cost of living that’s already in place. We pay the highest price in regard to fuel; we pay a fuel tax on top of that. We also pay in regard to heating fuel. We’re nailed with another tax on our heating fuel. I think it’s important to realize that in what little way this was intended…. You have to calculate the cumulative effect of all taxes, not just this one that’s being presented.
At this time I will be voting against the motion.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. To the motion, the honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My colleague brought forward a worthy motion with many positive points. Regretfully, the point that affects me and my constituents is that it increases the cost by further registration. I cannot support this motion.
The Members have spoken about the benefit to all NWT residents. Once again, I have to disagree with my colleagues; it is not benefiting all the NWT residents. I’ve got a constituency with many small communities and road systems, and they have to depend on the bigger vehicles to move around, to move their goods. In fact, many of my communities don’t even have a consistent store, so they do have to travel quite a bit.
Having the benefits of a smaller vehicle is just not advantageous to them. It’s not a choice for them. They do have to have these larger vehicles in order to get around. In the urban centres — where you have nice roads and you’re using it daily and you have a choice — it’s probably a necessity that you move to smaller vehicles to do your running around from one end of Yellowknife to the other, to do your grocery shopping and move your kids around. But in the smaller communities there’s just not that kind of environment that’s conducive to this type of change in our legislation.
Some of the points — that the Department of Transportation should be researching this type of thing — I agree with, but by bringing it forward in the motion, I just cannot support it in this form.
Another thing is that Members made an issue of climate change and the ability of our constituents to think green. All those are good points. Again, for my constituency it’s not a choice. It becomes an issue of cost and how it impacts their pocketbooks. With those points I just cannot support this motion. I will be voting against it.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. To the motion, the honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank the Member for Great Slave for bringing forward the motion that’s before us today. I agree with the principle of the motion. Being the chair of EDI, any proposed changes to registration from the Department of Transportation would be vetted through the committee. I think a lot of the concerns — and concerns I share with Members…. I am not going to support any increase, especially in the smaller communities, for operating a vehicle. That’s just something I wouldn’t condone.
If we do move to something like this, I could see folks who want to buy a hybrid or want to buy a more fuel efficient smaller vehicle being given a break on the registration fees. I can’t see myself supporting any increase to registration fees for vehicles in the Northwest Territories. I could see us lowering them for the more fuel efficient vehicles.
In the smaller communities, like some of my colleagues were saying, there isn’t much of a choice. The roads are such that you need a truck. A truck is a way of life in small communities for people who are out harvesting caribou or on the land. They need a big vehicle. And for transporting their families in the small communities, a small vehicle is just not going to do it. There are potholes. I’ve been to a number of small communities myself, and the roads are oftentimes a sad state.
Again, I want to say that I do support the motion in principle. To the Members who are opposing the motion before us today, I want them to take some satisfaction in that all of this, if it happens, is going to be vetted through committee. There will be ample opportunity to discuss this again.
Again, to the principle of the motion I do agree, Mr. Speaker, and I’ll be supporting the motion.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. To the motion, the honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to indicate at the outset that I am in support of this motion, and then to the principle of the motion that has been mentioned by my colleague before me.... I think I’d like to make some comments, though, in relation to some of the arguments that have been presented already and try to counter them.
I also feel that there should not be an increase to registration fees in small communities, and I don’t believe that’s what this particular motion presents. It presents, simply, the possibility of implementing a tiered registration system. It does not say that registrations will increase. We’re not discussing the implementation here; we’re merely discussing the principle of this particular motion.
I think that a tiered system will allow us to accommodate regional differences. I fully understand that we have regional differences and that in Tulita it’s far easier to drive with a truck than to drive with a small car on the roads that exist there. I agree with that. But I think a tiered system will allow us to maintain current registration fees at the level they are at now and give some sort of a break for people who wish to…. It will give them an incentive to take care of the environment and look at purchasing a more fuel efficient vehicle.
I have to say that, in my mind, there are large vehicles, which would be a truck that’s, say, an F-150, and there are gigantic vehicles. I think the intent of this motion is to increase fees for gigantic vehicles. I think there’s a full understanding on the part of Members that an F-150 is a fairly common vehicle in the communities, and it probably will survive the roads that exist in the communities and will take them from one to the other. There’s no need in most communities for the gigantic vehicle — even for those with large families.
I think that this particular motion will supplement the ecoAUTO rebate program that we have in place and that it will encourage people to limit their greenhouse gas emissions. I think that’s a good thing. I think that’s something we should keep front and centre of our minds all the time, and I don’t know that we do that.
I do think it’s time we take responsibility for our own energy use. It’s a mentality we have to keep hammering away at. I think most people, to a certain extent, have a little bit of it, but it’s in the back of our brain as opposed to the front of our brain. This is just one more tool we can use to get people to be conscious of what they’re doing.
I think I’ll quit before I lose my voice.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the motion, the honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly appreciate the comments of the Members on this issue. It is a very important issue, and it’s been an issue that the Department of Transportation has been looking at for some time in looking at the options that are possible within the area.
Given the location of where we live in the world — in the Northwest Territories — it’s important that we recognize we’re going to be the most impacted by climate change. It’s important that we do our share and lead by example.
Our government in the last while has been working hard to provide programs to provide incentives to reduce the cost of energy and promote energy efficiency for our homes and for our businesses. We’ve heard a lot about different ways to do that, and vehicles should be no different. We’ve really been working towards seeing what other jurisdictions are doing. We’ve done a scan on all the other jurisdictions across the country and how they work with the vehicle registration fee structures. A tiered approach, of course, is usually based on vehicle fuel consumption. But that’s just one of many options. Other jurisdictions are looking at a number of other things.
Of the 13 jurisdictions that we looked at, seven do not offer any type of incentives for fuel efficiency. Others do, however, based on different ways to calculate that. Some are based on vehicle weight, others are based on cylinder displacement, and some other jurisdictions offer a rebate on registration and insurance for vehicles that qualify for federal government programs.
Right now I wanted to inform the House that we are looking at a number of options that include a tiered registration system. We’d be glad to share our findings with all the Members of this House. As this motion is to provide direction to our government, Cabinet will not be voting on it.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. To the motion, the honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Speaker, the challenges before us in terms of climate change and the greenhouse emissions have certainly been brought to the forefront of people in the last couple of years, especially with the winter roads and the ice crossings. Even being in Fort Providence last weekend…. I talked about being on the river with my father-in-law. He set a net, and he was saying, “You know, at this time of the year we should have ice coming down the river here. How come there’s no ice on the river? The weather has really been changed quite a lot for us.”
We know our challenges as leaders in the community. The elders having a difficult time in the evening: what kind of weather is it going to be the next day in terms of reading the weather? Climate change is right in our face.
I want to say thank you to the Member for continuing to raise the issue here in terms of the challenges, which for us are very true in many different aspects.
Mr. Speaker, our biggest polluters — as Mr. Krutko, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, talked about — are the diamond mines and the amount of traffic that comes through Yellowknife to bring the fuel up to the diamond mines so they can produce diamonds in the Northwest Territories. Two big factors, in terms of the greenhouse emissions here, are the diamond mines and the trucks that come up to deliver supplies to them. I think this motion should be looked at again in terms of how we tackle these two big issues.
The NWT Hydro Strategy talks about the diamond mines. They talk about putting a road into the diamond mines to reduce the amount of traffic in the North. Things like that should be really looked at.
DOT is one of our biggest contributors in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. I know they have done some work in terms of how they have reduced emissions by their use of the facilities in the North and by the number of vehicles they have on the road here. That’s something that should strongly come back to this government, talking about how we reduce the transportation initiative in terms of eliminating some of the greenhouse gas here.
I have an issue with this, because in some of our smaller communities there is no proper garage in terms of looking at how we use our vehicles. If we want a vehicle, sometimes our roads are not equipped for those vehicles. In my communities they talk about the use of vehicles, and what’s needed in there, as you said, is the F-150. Sometimes we have large families, and the high cost of living makes it so that we all need to travel to some of the communities to do some shopping.
Mr. Speaker, in my community we don’t have very many roads. On some of the small roads in our communities we travel around and around and around. In other regions they can go to different areas, but they are only lucky when the window opens up in January until the end of March, just to get out here.
A two tier system should look at all transportation. Look at the barges that come down the Mackenzie River and how much diesel they use in NTCL super barges arriving in the North. They use a lot of that. Look at the airplanes. We need to look at a lot.
I understand where the Member is going, but first I think we should look at it closely in terms of how we go about it. What we need to look at is how this is impacting some of our small communities and have some time to think about this.
Mr. Speaker, with the price of gas $1.69 a litre in Tulita, when that price went up again, a lot of people were talking about how we get fuel efficiency vehicles in lieu of the gas guzzlers to be had. We talked to the companies who sell these vehicles down at Hay River and Inuvik. There is a very fine balance in terms of personal choice and consciousness of climate change.
Again, we have large families. They all want to travel together. I don’t think we can afford another vehicle to travel with them. We thought the things that need to be considered…. I think breaks should be given to the people who are on the winter road system. They should get a break and a discount on registration for travelling on that road system. Something like that should be looked at.
Mr. Speaker, at this time I’m not going to support the motion. I think it’s a worthy cause, but we should have some more discussions. I think our people are going to be impacted in our communities if we start implementing this. I know if we start implementing this discussion here, a lot of investment can go into discussion and research. I think it needs to be brought to the community or to the House for some more discussion before we look into something like that. It could be beneficial to the people in the North. Right now I think the diamond mines and the trucking companies that are using more should be the ones who should be paying the types of prices, if we’re looking at something like this.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. To the motion? I’ll allow the mover of the motion some closing comments. Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you. Mr. Speaker, maybe my initial opening comments were a little on the long side and people stopped listening to me halfway through. In no way, shape or form does this motion suggest that vehicles in small communities should have a higher registration rate. It doesn’t say that. It doesn’t suggest that. If that’s what you think, I’m sorry, but that’s definitely not what it’s saying.
It does actually provide some incentive and encourage people to buy more fuel efficient vehicles. There may be a lower rate to those individuals, but certainly not a higher rate for those individuals in the small community driving, as Ms. Bisaro pointed out, the F-150.
I think it’s very important for us to be leaders and not followers, and this is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the Northwest Territories. I know that there’s a lot that needs to be done, and this is just one small step. I’m glad to hear the Minister responsible indicate that there is research underway. I think that’s a good step, but I also think passing this motion is important. It’s so important, in fact, that I think I’m going to request a recorded vote on this one. I’m also going to request and strongly encourage the Premier to allow Cabinet members a free vote on this motion so that we can all demonstrate our individual commitment to the environment and move forward in the best interests of the people of the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member is requesting a recorded vote. All those in favour of the motion, please stand.
Mr. Abernethy, Mr. Ramsay, Mrs. Groenewegen, Mr. Hawkins, Ms. Bisaro, Mr. Bromley.
All those opposed to the motion, please stand.
Mr. Menicoche, Mr. Jacobson, Mr. Yakeleya, Mr. Krutko.
All those abstaining from the motion, please stand.
Mr. Lafferty, Ms. Lee, Mr. Miltenberger, Mr. Roland, Mr. Michael McLeod, Mr. Robert McLeod, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Results are of the votes: six for, four against, seven abstentions.
Motion carried.
Colleagues, I have two further motions on the order paper for today. The chair is going to call a short break before we proceed to the next motion.
The House took a short recess.
The House resumed.
Back to Orders of the Day. Item 16, motions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
