When the Legislative Assembly shut down in March due to the COVID health state of emergency, the Government of the Northwest Territories was well into its annual budgeting process. As we continue that discussion, we are also moving forward to other financial matters to be discussed during this sitting of the Legislative Assembly.
The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic do not change the Government’s need to continue providing programs and services. At the same time, we have been responding to the immediate needs of the Northwest Territories economy, communities, businesses, and residents as a result of the health restrictions.
Since the 2020-2021 budget was introduced, the government’s fiscal situation has worsened as the COVID-19 pandemic has created declines in own source revenues and increases in expenditures while the government has developed and launched a variety of economic relief packages. The significance of the negative effects of the fiscal framework will be better known as the Emerging Wisely plan is further implemented.
Mr. Speaker, we are fortunate that Canada has provided $23 million in support to the GNWT response that will partially offset costs directly related to COVID-19. Right now, departments are responding to COVID-19 in ways that have not been included in their budgets through existing appropriations. These include the establishment of Emergency Management Operations, which are likely to be ongoing for some time; the roll-out of managed alcohol; check stops at borders; monitoring of incoming air traffic passengers; self-isolation centers in regional centers; and homelessness supports. The Department of Finance is working with all the departments and public agencies to track all of the incremental costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the Government of the Northwest Territories has spent almost $7.9 million in COVID-related costs, and we project an additional $31.1 million will be needed, of which $11.3 million is allocated to the health response.
The Government of the Northwest Territories has also provided targeted assistance to various sectors in the territory including funding for childcare providers, airport landing fee holidays, airport lease fee holidays, and increased income assistance which to date totals over $30 million.
I believe we must work continue to work creatively, use further assistance to advance the 19th Legislative Assembly’s mandate. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting health measures being implemented across the planet have thrown the global economy into the economic equivalent of a 100-year storm. Given the economic disruption, and despite all immediate government actions to support the economy, things will not be the same when the COVID-19 pandemic health measures have lifted. The Government of the Northwest Territories has a responsibility to support the recovery as quickly as possible or much of the private sector may simply not have the ability to recover. We need to act quickly and strategically to invest in the future economy and in all of our residents and businesses in a way that reflects the core values held by Northwest Territories residents and builds on the priorities of the 19th Legislative Assembly. It is my expectation that, through the structure of the Emerge Stronger dialogue and process, we will be able to gather ideas and proposals that reflect needs from across regions, communities, and sectors in order to take responsive and responsible funding decisions.
Mr. Speaker, departments have provided high-level assessments of COVID-19 impacts on the mandate priorities and associated actions that indicate that a lot of the mandate items can be fulfilled by the end of the 19th Legislative Assembly with few delays or issues. As we adjust to a post-COVID environment, I look forward to working with all Members to keep the mandate largely aligned with the economic and social recovery by recognizing priorities that may no longer be relevant and embracing new priorities that may have emerged.
As part of the 2020-2021 budgeting process, a fiscal strategy has been presented that spans the life of the 19th Legislative Assembly. Part of this strategy identified $25 million to fund mandate priorities over the next four years. This funding is proposed to remain in place and the supplementary appropriation to be considered this sitting will include an advancement of immediate funding to begin work on several initiatives.
Mr. Speaker, back in February, I indicated we would hold public discussions on the next budget as soon as possible so that the Assembly would have the benefit of residents' priorities in advance of finalizing the four-year business plans. These plans and increased program evaluation, among several policy initiatives, are intended to lead to governing so that "the Northwest Territories is a premier destination to live, with a positive economic future; strong educational opportunities for our children; quality health care; a respectful approach to honouring lands, water, and wildlife; and collaborative relationships with Indigenous governments based in a commitment to reconciliation." We want to understand how residents interpret what is essentially our mission statement.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not changed this commitment. Over the summer months of 2020, supported by the Department of Finance, I will endeavour to meaningfully engage with residents of the Northwest Territories to determine their views on a variety of topics related to how and why the Government of the Northwest Territories spends money. Of particular interest to me, given the drastic changes that have taken place as a result of COVID-19, is how residents and stakeholders think the government should change the way we do business and what measured risks they would support the government to take to aid with the economic and social recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to discuss the matter of NWT small businesses conducting cross-border services who may now lose out on contracts due to the fact they are required to self-isolate upon their return.
A real-life example would be a business that currently has a contract to pick up vehicles in the NWT and deliver them to a location in Alberta. The contract this business has is with the southern company. This service is intermittent and requires the business owner, upon his return, to self-isolate in Hay River, while his home base is Fort Simpson. The consequence of this is the loss of 14 days of business and revenue.
The contract is now coming up for renewal, and the NWT company will most likely not be invited to bid. This is due to the fact they are required to self-isolate upon their return and thus not able to follow through with timely service due to the stringent self-isolation requirements in the NWT. The contract will now go to a southern service provider, who is allowed to come into the NWT, retrieve a vehicle, turn around, and go back south with no requirement to self-isolate. This puts our northern businesses at a disadvantage.
This scenario is not only affecting this particular company. It is also affecting other northern companies in similar positions. These homegrown northern companies are now considering moving a good portion of their operation to Alberta in order to keep their businesses afloat. The move to Alberta would remove the requirement to self-isolate in the NWT, which is costing these companies both contracts and loss of revenue.
Mr. Speaker, we all know the reasoning behind the self-isolation requirement, but we also need to use a common-sense approach to some of our decisions.
We in the NWT are fortunate to have some very competent people in our health department, Dr. Kami Kandola being one of them, and I am sure she, with her team and working with other departments, can come up with a solution to this issue and help save some of our small businesses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Behchoko has issued a temporary ban on all liquor in the community. It was a response to an alarming upsurge in bootlegging. The community prohibition supplements the territorial government's own COVID-19-related liquor restrictions implemented on April 16th. My understanding is that that prohibition ceases tomorrow, May 28th.
[Translation] Mr. Speaker, today, we know there have been all sorts of problems and issues in the communities related to drugs and alcohol in most of the communities and my community, because we all know that we have access to travel, and we also know of the bootleggers in the communities. How can we provide services to the community so that we would be able to ban bootleggers? Much later on in the day, I would be able to then ask the Minister of Justice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Translation ends].
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mr. Speaker, the Chief Public Health Officer prohibited all travel into the Northwest Territories to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This was March 21st. There were exceptions to allow persons deemed as essential services in and out of the territory, such as long-haul truckers, health and social services providers, federal and territorial wildlife officers, peace officers, forest firefighters, and the list goes on and on.
The Emerging Wisely document, the phased approach to lifting restrictions, was aptly introduced, and phase 1 was in effect in time for the May long weekend. I know many NWT residents were out in full force all over our highway system. This was great to see.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to run some numbers of the vehicle crossings and occupants at the border checkpoint. I believe this was in Enterprise, which is quite the distance from the actual NWT-Alberta border, which is at the 60th parallel. This information was taken from the Deputy Minister of MACA's report of May 25th:
On Wednesday, May 20th, there were 46 transports, 11 private vehicles, with 13 occupants total;
Thursday, May 21st, 33 transports, 14 private vehicles, with 23 occupants;
Friday, May 22nd, there were 22 transports, 12 private, with 19 occupants;
Saturday, May 23rd, 22 transports, 26 private vehicles, with 43 occupants;
Sunday, May 24th, there were 19 transports, 22 private vehicles, with 43 occupants.
I would also like to note that, on Sunday, May 10th, which was Mother's Day, there were 57 private vehicles, with a total of 101 occupants. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to bring up the MTS sea lift for Nunakput for the 2020 season.
Mr. Speaker, in this House before, I brought up that the sea lift for Nunakput is a vital lifeline in remote coastal communities in my riding. The sea lift gives families the annual chance for lower cost of food, fuel, and building materials shipped into our communities, and also vehicles and snowmobiles. It's more cost effective shipping by sea lift than by air. This is even more important, Mr. Speaker, with the economic impact of COVID-19.
In 2016, Northern Transportation Company Limited was out of business. GNWT purchased the assets, and the Department of Infrastructure took over the company. They started shipping up and down the Mackenzie River. The barges could only reach our communities, Mr. Speaker, when the ice was gone. This means: start the boat, Mr. Speaker, right now. Start getting it ready in regards to our communities and the shipping.
The GNWT has one chance every year to get this job done. Those years, the sailing was a disaster for MTS. It was unable to deliver for Paulatuk. They blamed the high water and the ice blockage, which happens on the ocean side, comes in and out. They are supposed to be resupplying Sachs Harbour. Actually, they are returning from private contracts. That is what was the delay. We can't have that this year.
It cost the former government $3.9 million in flying essential goods to the communities that didn't have salvage season for the residents. Materials and equipment stayed on the boat for a year, and the materials were rotten, mould. The barge had another year to arrive into the community. When the materials did arrive, again, they spoiled on the barge.
Mr. Speaker, Nunakput has not forgotten the 2018 sailing season. I want to repeat that so it reminds the Minister to keep an eye on that, to make sure MTS is on the ball and ready to start shipping north when ice is cleared. This is so important to our constituents up in my riding. The sea lift schedule is posted on the MTS website. The schedule of Ulukhaktok, Paulatuk cargo acceptance is July 12th, Sachs Harbour, August 2nd to the 14th.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, Sachs Harbour, Ulukhaktok, their last shipping acceptance date for cargo in Hay River and Tuktoyaktuk is July 12th. Sachs Harbour is the 2nd of August to the 14th. The Ulukhaktok barge is expected between July 29th and the 16th. For Paulatuk, the barge is expected between August 6th and the 19th. For Tuktoyaktuk, we have the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk highway. Plus, we have the shipping for out of Hay River July 10th, expected July 24th. Remaining two barges, last of the year, cargo acceptance for the community of Tuktoyaktuk is July 23rd for those barges, arriving August 6th and 10th, respectively. These dates subject to change, but keep an eye on MTS website. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. To support low-income workers during the pandemic, the Department of Finance has implemented a wage top-up program. NWT workers aged 15 or over and earning less than $18 per hour are eligible. Program covers April 1 to July 31, 2020. Workers who receive commissions or tips must include those amounts as part of their income for the purpose of the program. Students who, as part of their school curriculum, are employed in the work program and those who are self-employed are not eligible.
Employers are required to apply and receive one-time compensation of $50 per eligible employee, and their portion of Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance costs for the top-up will also be covered under the program. A grant is paid to each business that successfully applies based on the hours worked for each employee during a given month. The employer is required to include in the employees' paycheque a lump-sum wage to top-up payment in the business's next available payroll cycle. Total cost for the four-month program is estimated at $6.2 million, with the federal government covering $4.74 million or about 75 percent.
To be clear, Mr. Speaker, I support the wage top-up program as it can support many of the service sector workers who provide key programs and services and will assist in economic recovery. However, the need for this program is the clearest sign that our minimum wage is too low. Thirteen dollars and forty-six cents per hour is not enough to get by on, and it is no surprise to many Northerners.
In March 2019, Alternatives North released research reports that calculated each parent in a family of four would have to earn $23.95 hourly in Yellowknife, $24.75 in Hay River, and $23.78 in Inuvik for a decent standard of living.
This government uses a multi-stakeholder process to review the minimum wage. Committee has two government reps, one of whom shares two employee representatives, two from employers, and one from a social agency, two finance employee service consultants. The committee's 2014 and 2018 reports are almost verbatim. The report observed raising the minimum wage will have "little bearing on many Northerners living in poverty because fewer than 1,121,000 workers the NWT make less than $15 an hour." I will have questions later today for the Minister of Finance on how we can keep the wage top-up program as the floor for new NWT minimum wage. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today, I am going to talk about issues relating to the enforcement of the Chief Public Health Officer's orders in apartment buildings. I have heard many complaints from constituents about orders not being followed despite the creation of the enforcement task force at the beginning of April.
Mr. Speaker, most of the complaints are about people gathering inside who are not part of the same household. About two-thirds of the constituents in Yellowknife Centre live in apartments and condos, so their neighbours' behaviour has a direct impact on them. Here is a sample of what I heard.
On April 13, one constituent said, "I don't know what's the point in all my email and calls to this GNWT line if no one is actually going to do anything. For the past four days, I've been calling about unit 106. In the past two hours, I've kicked out nine people, and there are people in and out of there every three minutes."
On April 15, another constituent in a different apartment building said, "Why is it okay for the neighbours to have people coming and going non-stop and partying non-stop when we are all facing something bigger than ourselves? This type of negligence shouldn't be tolerated. The amount of traffic has not slowed down here since this illness has began."
These complaints highlight a grey area in enforcement. Landlords, including public housing, seem to be reluctant to stop the parties. Without their say so, bylaw won't go into apartment building for noise complaints. I've been told the RCMP aren't responding to complaints about ignoring the public health orders. That leaves the enforcement task force. On this front, they have been missing in action.
Mr. Speaker, it's my understanding that the enforcement task force has focused on public education about the health orders. That’s a good idea since we are all new to this kind of lockdown. But what happens when people ignore and flout the orders? The enforcement task force has access to progressive sanctions for not following the public health orders, but no one in the NWT has received anything more substantial than a written warning. While that action may be adequate in most situations, it is not working in the Yellowknife Centre apartment buildings.
Mr. Speaker, here's why this issue matters: many of my constituents in apartment buildings are vulnerable to this virus because they have pre-existing conditions. They are trying hard to keep themselves safe, but in some cases their neighbours are undermining their efforts. The partiers believe there aren't any consequences, and shockingly, it seems they are right. I will have questions for the MACA Minister. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Mr. Speaker, it has not been lost on me that, had this pandemic occurred a year ago, I would have been amongst those northern business owners facing little option for financial support and the threat of closing my business.
Being a business owner in the North is a challenge. In the wake of this pandemic, our small-to-medium business owners are struggling to keep staff on payroll while incurring close to no billable hours. The federal Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy does not subsidize related employees. This means that, in the North, where so many of us are family, many northern businesses don't qualify. While northern businesses do not have to pay their WSCC premiums today, they are, incurring an eventual debt for staff at home.
On March 20, this government released its first economic relief package. It offered loans through the BDIC, along with freezes to fees and payments owed to the GNWT. On the same day, the GNWT promised the business community a Business Advisory Council to identify gaps in financial supports and to plan how the government could build up our struggling business community. It is now 10 weeks later, Mr. Speaker, and this council still does not exist.
Phase 1 of the GNWT's Emerging Wisely plan is allowing businesses to gradually reopen. Some businesses will find that, because of restrictions for public safety, it actually costs more to operate than the income being generated. Some will find they are cut off from federal supports once they start generating an income, even though that income is not yet at a liveable level.
Mr. Speaker, this fall, a second wave of COVID is expected. Businesses may need to again close their doors, so now is the time to get a plan in place. Around the world, local economies have a vigorous interest in building resilience to shock as they regenerate, a silver lining in the midst of this pandemic, but, to begin building resilience, we need to make it to tomorrow. We didn't start our containment phase willing to lose people to COVID-19. We cannot start our business recovery plan willing to lose long-time northern businesses.
We have seen great innovation from many northern businesses, and I commend them for displaying creativity in chaos, but not every business has the resources or ability to make it on their own. Local business owners have been there to support our sports teams, help when tragedy hits our communities, and offer the services we rely on. They are the backbones of our communities, and now, more than ever, they need our support and the leadership of the GNWT. This government must do more on an urgent basis to help our local businesses.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. While we as a government deal with the COVID pandemic, it will and is becoming very clear that we will need more resources to address the needs of our residents. People will look to the government to help them during these trying times.
While we face this pandemic and all that it involves, we also have other ongoing issues here in the North. Some of the issues have been called a crisis. I'm speaking of issues like housing; health of our people; the cost of living; our children in care; protection of our vulnerable women and children; infrastructure needs, just in the town of Inuvik alone; and economic development, as just some examples that my constituents bring forward.
Mr. Speaker, while we are not in normal times as a result of the pandemic, unfortunately, some of the other issues that I just mentioned are far too common and normal for my community and for the communities of the North. It's my opinion that these issues of things like housing and our children in care do not need to be considered normal, and we as a government need to do as much as we can to ensure that Canada understands that the issues we face are not normal, but at times in fact are unacceptable. We must find ways to ensure that the federal government invests not only in normal operational issues, but invests in the resources that we need, as a government, to address these issues we face and what some people consider normal.
I will have questions for the Premier later on how we can better access federal resources to deal with our issues, because the investment dollars that I'm speaking about, just for my community alone, will require a massive federal investment, and that is long overdue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday I delivered my response to the Commissioner's opening address, where I outlined my priorities for the 19th Assembly. In today's Member's statement, I am going to expand on one of these priorities, the Fort Smith Regional Airport.
In my speech yesterday, I was very clear in what I and the constituents of Thebacha want to see done with the Fort Smith Regional Airport. I will reiterate that what needs to be done is the following:
a new and improved terminal to be built;
the runway to be restored to its original width;
all LED lights to be properly reinstalled and in working order; and
ensure the stakeholders of the town of Fort Smith are properly involved and consulted during the entire process.
Mr. Speaker, one of the key reasons that I decided to run for MLA in the first place was to help rebuild Fort Smith in order to correct errors such as that which was done to our airport. I have spoken about this issue multiple times during this Assembly already, but people don't seem to understand the genuine sentiment that the people of Fort Smith have about this issue. I spoke to many of my constituents about this airport issue since these changes were done, and everybody agrees that Fort Smith was wrong with those changes to the LED lights, some of which don't even work, along with the bizarre decision to reduce the runway width.
All of the constituents of Thebacha want to see better and proper improvements made to our airport. Our community is long overdue for a new airport terminal, given we have been using the same terminal since 1969. Plus, considering the damage done to our economy from COVID-19, this type of infrastructure project is a great opportunity to help spur economic growth within our community, as well as the broader South Slave region and the NWT.
Mr. Speaker, until I start seeing results on this issue, I will continue to bring this issue up and fight for the betterment of Fort Smith. I assure you, as long as I am a Member of this House, this will not be the last time you will hear me talk about this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. This week is National Tourism Week, from May 24th to the 31st of this month, and I wish I could stand here today to celebrate the incredible success of my constituents, the Lutselk'e Dene First Nation, the LKDFN, for their leadership and successful acquisition of the Frontier Fishing Lodge, which has operated for 40 years on the doorstep and has a global reputation as one of the premier fishing lodges in the Northwest Territories, but unfortunately, I can't.
Mr. Speaker, in December 2019, the LKDFN purchased the lodge and the entire business, including the operating company, of all its assets. The community intends the lodge to be the gateway to the Thaidene Nene, drawing tourists from all around the world to discover the beauty of the East Arm and the Dene way of life. They see the lodge as critical infrastructure that will become an economic engine for the community, and one of the primary employers in a village that already suffers from high unemployment.
However, in my opinion, the GNWT is standing in its way. The only thing that has changed is the business ownership, yet the GNWT has required the LKDFN to apply for brand new permits to extend the operation of the lodge. Over the past few months, the LKDFN has sought and obtained the transfer of its tour operator's licence and has obtained conditional health and occupancy permits. In the process of obtaining a remote lodge liquor permit, the LKDFN was advised that it would also require a MACA business licence. Previously, a lodge required a business licence, as remote lodges until recently had been regulated by ITI under the Tourism Act. However, changes to the liquor regulations now appear to require MACA to issue business licences to remote lodges. After more than two months of unresponsiveness and delay, MACA has informed LKDFN it needs to develop new policies in order to issue the licence. Lutselk'e and the Frontier Lodge are apparently the first remote tour operation subjected to these now policy requirements in obtaining a MACA licence.
Mr. Speaker, instead of granting the LKDFN a temporary exemption to operate while MACA develops these new policies, MACA's Office of the Fire Commissioner has instead advised the LKDFN that it is cancelling the temporary occupancy permits for the lodge that were previously issued. I am seeking unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Marsi cho, colleagues, Mr. Speaker. Simply put, MACA is withholding critical permits from the LKDFN in the middle of a pandemic that is already having a devastating effect on our tourism industry. The effect of this decision is obvious; the lodge cannot open for business, and the LKDFN will have received no revenue. Something has got to give, and I sincerely hope that this does not result in a defunct business in the NWT.
I want to take a quote here from the website for the National Tourism Week. It says, "Tourism matters, and Canada cannot afford to lose another tourism sector." I think I will take that a little bit further. The Northwest Territories cannot afford to lose any of its tourism operators. Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions for the MACA Minister later on.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In this House, we have the honour of debating and discussing some of the larger policy ideas. One you will hear me speak about over the next three years is a universal basic income.
Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate that, despite the fact that I talk about this large, very lofty program that would change the nature of government and society, and it's a program I fundamentally believe in, I don't believe, since we're having that debate, that all other conversations around social assistance programs are just kind of put on hold. One of my concerns is that I recognize that a universal basic income would take, probably, ten years and millions of dollars and require support from the federal government, but that doesn't mean we can't start now. What happens is while we are having that much larger debate, we don't set ourselves up for success in starting small now.
I want to clarify some of the terms that often get thrown around in this world. A universal basic income is the proposal you give everyone money every month. You've seen different jurisdictions do this. It can be $1,000 a month. It can be $3,000 a month. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor. Such a policy would cost millions of dollars and be a complete transformation on how government operates.
Then, there's a guaranteed basic income, not necessarily universal, which would guarantee an amount of income to every person in the Northwest Territories. What that amount is, is up for debate. It could be $12,000 a year. They could say, no one in the Northwest Territories is going to make less than $12,000 a year, and it doesn't matter if you don't do your proactive step, or you miss your income assistance program. We're just guaranteeing that.
Then, there's a guaranteed livable income which actually kicks that up to an amount so you're not just squaloring away in poverty, say, $36,000 a year.
There are a variety of options, but meanwhile, while we have this debate in this House, I want the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to be picking away at some smaller non-controversial changes. I believe we could start a guaranteed basic income pilot project tomorrow. We could take ten people out of income assistance who have been on it for years. We could guarantee them a liveable income for a year, and it would probably cost us less than a half million dollars to do it, and it might in the long run actually save us some money. I would like departments to start small, to look at the next smallest policy change they can make that gets us to that bigger picture. I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure. I would like the Minister to assure that everything is going as planned for the MTS shipping season, the 2020 shipping season, without any delays. Yes or no? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister of Infrastructure
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I can commit that everything is on track with MTS for this upcoming season. We are looking for new ways to provide reliable community resupply and ensure that we are gaining our maximum value. We will have the four double-hulled barges delivered to Tuktoyaktuk. August 12th or 15th, it will show up in Tuktoyaktuk. We were the first to be approved under the Oceans Protection Plan on that. This one is a 75/25 percent funding. The seven other projects that we have in under that plan will all be at 100 percent funding. We are looking at the changes. We are reviewing at the moment the changes that we could be making to MTS and the structure of the organization. We are not at a stage yet where we have determined what that is going to look like, but it is generally viewed that creating a Crown corporation would provide the maximum benefit and flexibility going forward.
A marine business consultant has recently been engaged to review and build upon the previous work and make recommendations of viable options as to the business structure that is best suited for the way that we do business in the North. In addition to the four double-hulled showing up this year, we have the two double-hulled pre-owned barges that we purchased in 2017. We have two new 1500 series conversions. MTS will have a total of eight double-hulled fuel barges. We are looking at new markets. I think I will conclude there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
For the cargo acceptance dates, are those finalized at this time on the website, just to make sure that the people have proper notification in regards to ordering their food and their trucks or building materials for the community? Also, with our government purchasing bulk fuel from Edmonton rack price because the prices up there, they only change once a year when the barge comes in. Right now, at the pumps here, 97 cents. Back home, it's $1.51 and it only gets higher, so to try and get cheaper fuel into the communities.
Yes, the website is updated, and things are finalized. We do encourage people to continue to check the website regularly as things do change, and if the situation were to change. We are looking at our fuel supply model. That has definitely been something that has been raised with us. We did have a discussion yesterday about that. I believe the Member had to leave. We recognize that we need to look at our model and ensure that it does meet the efficient supply and resupply of the communities. As well, too, to make sure we have some reliability and redundancy within the models. We are definitely evaluating the fuel supply model.
Could I ask the Minister to have a commitment from her in regards to advise us if there's any delays or anything with MTS for the outlying communities, just to make sure that the department stays on top of it? They are our lifeline in our small communities that I represent, and we have to make sure that any potential problems be rectified as soon as possible. Just a commitment from the Minister and her department?
Yes. I will commit to that personally and notifying the Member, and the other relevant Members, every time there is a delay in the resupply or any changes.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions, Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. The enforcement of Behchoko temporary liquor prohibition, Mr. Speaker, the first question I have is for the Minister of Justice. What measures have the RCMP adopted to meet increased law enforcement challenges of the Behchoko temporary ban on liquor? Masi.
Thank you. Minister of Justice.
