Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I previously asked questions to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs regarding a Yellowknife city charter. I was hoping that the Minister responsible could outline a process and provide that document to the City of Yellowknife on what a path forward for a Yellowknife city charter could look like.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to elaborate quickly on the charter that the City of Yellowknife is proposing, that it is a new approach. We need to gather, and we need to identify what it is that the city is wanting to change within the Cities, Towns and Villages Act. Going forward, I just need to be more clear. I am open to having further discussions with the City of Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
One of my concerns regarding this is that there are no plans currently to bring the City, Towns and Villages Act forward during this Assembly. I know the department has a lot of work to do regarding the Property Assessment and Taxation Act, which ultimately ties into the city charter issue. My concern is that the municipalities have been asking for the Property Assessment and Taxation Act to be brought forward for over a decade, and the department has been very slow to do so. I don't want to be standing here in a decade, asking about a Yellowknife city charter. Would the Minister be willing to reach out to the City of Yellowknife and get them to provide what they would see as a process going forward for a Yellowknife city charter?
MACA is prepared to receive information for city and the charter proposed. We are open to be meeting with them and discuss concepts. We will also of course need to gather other relevant information. I really want to see why the city would want to change their status and adapt the charters act. It is available in other jurisdictions, but it does not exist in the Northwest Territories. Going forward, yes, I am available to be meeting with the City of Yellowknife.
I will convey that information to the city, and I look forward to asking about those discussions. I can tell you the reason that the City of Yellowknife has asked for this is because they find dealing with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs extremely frustrating. I am happy to finally see the Property Assessment and Taxation Act coming forward. There is a number of unique things that we can do in Yellowknife, whether it be municipal bonds, local services, vacancy taxes, that simply just would not make sense in the smaller communities and may not even make sense in the other tax-based communities. So, during the development of the Property Assessment and Taxation Act, is the Minister willing to reach out to the City of Yellowknife and hear some of their concerns around property assessment and the unique needs of the City of Yellowknife?
Yes, I will be wanting to hear and elaborate a little bit more on the approach that the City of Yellowknife is taking. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
