Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank our Minister of Finance for going into the communities with his recent round of budget dialogue with Northerners. I am pleased that his open and honest approach with residents on how we should deal with our devolution monies and our Heritage Fund has been discussed. But – and this is where I depart from the mild-mannered Member for Range Lake – I am extremely disappointed and, most of all, infuriated at this same Minister who in last night’s budget dialogue with Yellowknife residents refused to take responsibility in responding to the question if we were capturing our fair share of economic rent for what we call, sometimes in this House, resource taxation, or commonly known as mining tax.
Before I go on my rant, let’s back up the bus first. The Department of Finance back in 2009 concluded that any such extra tax would be viewed as a double taxation. To that, I say hogwash. Then they proceeded to say such tax would be a disincentive to new resource development. I only need to say two things: Danny Williams and Newfoundland. Enough said.
Finally, my favourite, that this new resource revenue sharing with the federal government would be strained. This is where I yawn. That’s what I put in my Member’s statement.
The GNWT currently collects a corporate tax, a fuel tax, a property tax and a payroll tax from mining companies. While most provinces levy a mining tax in addition to the basic royalty rate, the NWT chooses not to. This is a fail. This mining tax is a standard practice in many jurisdictions and there is absolutely no reason to believe that such a tax would cause the mineral industry to suddenly stop exploring profitable opportunities in the NWT to favour other areas. Let’s face it, our first two major diamond mines were able to pay off their capital construction costs in less than three years, and with both of these mines net profiting over $37 billion annually, I hardly believe they would be poverty stricken with a mineral tax.
Furthermore, we have a golden opportunity if the GNWT would institute, today, a new mineral tax. Even with devolution, these revenues would not be clawed back. The territorial funding formula provides incentives for the GNWT to raise as much revenues as possible on its own. Any new revenues from new taxes are exempt from clawbacks for at least one year and after this period, 30 percent of the revenue raising ability is exempt.
This is a windfall, but the clock is ticking.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
The public owns its mineral resources on Crown land in the NWT. Our job, government’s job, the Department of Finance’s job and the Minister of Finance’s job is to capture a fair share of economic rent from mineral companies to ensure the public is appropriately compensated and that companies have fair returns.
Clearly, someone in this government didn’t get this memo and it’s clear that this current government is leaving money on the table at a time when they preach fiscal responsibility and accountability. This is shameful. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
