Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that I get to come back and ask some questions of the Minister of Lands. He talked about tax-based, and, yes, the Village of Fort Simpson is a tax-based community. However, the community of Fort Liard is a hamlet, and then the other four are designated authorities, so how is this information made available, since he does not want to share it with us? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have mentioned previously, the appraisals or assessments are not done by my department. I know, in the tax-based communities, you can generally go to the town office to look at the assessments of the individual properties. I am not certain how MACA deals with informing the residents or the property owners as to what the assessments are.
I appreciate the Minister for providing that information. I understand the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs does the assessment, but the assessment is being used by Lands to come up with a value of how they are going to come up with lease payments, so I am asking the Minister again: how is this information shared, the information that the Lands department uses, to get that out to the residents?
The Member is quite correct that, on the value of the lands, the lease payments are based. I believe with respect to municipals, which would be under the purview of the Minister of MACA, that, when assessments are set out for tax purposes, people are obviously informed of the assessment. As I mentioned earlier, I believe, I am not certain, but I think there is likely a breakdown in the assessments, in most communities, between land and buildings. I am not 100 per cent sure of that, but I believe that is the case, from memory. However, at least in the tax-based communities, then, once you have received that assessment, you do have the option of challenging it, so there is a safeguard against unfair or unreasonable assessments.
I thank the Minister for that information about tax-based communities. I am not talking about tax-based communities. I totally understand that process. The process is: as a taxpayer, you get an assessment; it has land and facilities on there; you have the right to then go to municipal government to appeal that decision. I am talking about designated authorities and the hamlets that do not have this process as the tax-based. So they have these assessments done. Then Land uses this assessment to come up with a lease payment, so can the Minister provide us this information and how it is done so that we can help the residents in these communities?
Again, I am not certain as to the manner in which MACA comes to these assessments or appraisals. That information probably could be obtained or possibly could be obtained from the Minister of MACA. I am not certain how the appraisers come to their figures, but I do know that we rely on those figures when rents are assessed.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I am not asking how the Department of Lands is getting the information. I understand that. The Minister has been very clear in the process. The Minister of MACA is very clear in the process. What I am asking is: how does his department use this information and how they share this information with the residents?
Because we have gone from 10 per cent to 5 per cent, but I am hearing from the Minister of MACA that the assessment is land and improvements, and then the Minister says Lands is using the assessment on just lands. So we want to know and my residents want to know how is this information shared with the residents? All they get is a slip right now saying your lease payment is X amount of dollars, so can the Minister make a commitment to explain the process to me so I can share this information with the residents? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Certainly, I would always be pleased to speak with the Member opposite. I do realize this is a complex issue, and we'll attempt to meet with him at his convenience. We will meet with him at convenience, and we will attempt to explain the process. I am also told in response to perhaps an earlier question that: for general taxation areas such as Fort Liard, a copy of the assessment roll is available at the community office as well as the regional MACA office. So it's somewhat similar to the other communities that are tax-based. It's rather similar to the other tax-based communities. Certainly, I would be prepared to meet with the Member. Thank you.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
