Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I use the opportunity to ask questions to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. In my Member’s statement I talked about consumer protection. My questions really come down to the moves that Manitoba and Nova Scotia have taken to cap cancellation fees, stop auto renewals and, certainly, build a communication line between cell phone service and their customers.
What is the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, who is also the Minister of consumer protection, aware of and what can he enlighten the House about? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec currently legislate contract requirements for cellular phones and so we follow that quite closely. I do know that CRTC does regulate the telecommunications in the country and they have initiated a consultation process to see if the telecommunications sector is getting to the point where they may need some intervention from the commission. Thank you.
Clearly, two if not three provinces have felt that the regulation that exists is not enough and they’ve taken appropriate steps to show that their citizens matter. I am asking the Minister of MACA what he’s prepared to do to demonstrate that our northern citizens matter by providing them good, solid consumer protection. Thank you.
Our citizens in the North matter all the time and we do whatever we can to protect their best interest. MACA is of the view that we will wait until CRTC completes their consultations to see if the next steps we take is any introduction to any kind of legislation. I think before then would be premature. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The cell phone rates are clearly a problem to three large provinces. I’m surprised to think the Minister thinks it’s premature that they took action by stating that the NWT will wait until CRTC responds.
Would the Minister be willing to seek some consultation from the consumers in the Northwest Territories to get some input from their point of view as to how they feel about cell phone rates and how it impacts them? As I pointed out, cancellation fees are high, contracts are troublesome and there are ways to solve these things. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Absolutely, we would like to hear from consumers out there. We do know that some consumers have some issues with some of the services they are getting. I think we have to recognize, too, that with the cell phone service capabilities in the Northwest Territories expanding, then there is going to be a need to have a look at something. We’re not quite sure what it is yet, but I can assure the Member that we are working on this issue and we will come up with something that protects consumers across the Northwest Territories.
It’s really nice the Minister is assuring me they’re going to do this and I’m really happy when he says they like to hear from consumers. I guess my question now is: What should consumers expect and what type of activity is the Minister going to take to demonstrate that they’re going out and getting input from consumers? Because an office buried in a department doesn’t advertise far and wide enough to draw this type of discussion. So if he says he cares about them and he wants to hear from them, how is this Minister going to rise to that challenge? Thank you.
I’m going to rise in this House and let them know we are going to look after their best interest. We are having a lot more concern with lots of consumer affairs issues out in the public. Our consumer affairs department, though it may be a small office, works very hard to ensure that the residents across the Northwest Territories are protected. So I can assure residents across the Northwest Territories that we will do what we can to protect their interest, and with the ever-expanding cell phone market in the Northwest Territories, I think that warrants serious consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is sitting here saying, “I’m telling people in the House.” Well, I hate to say it, not everybody follows the House as closely as we do. My last question is: Would the Minister be willing to take an active campaign in the public trying to draw attention to consumer affairs issues, and how can the public get engaged on issues, especially such as this as I highlighted, cell phone usage and cost? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We will. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
