Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, northern telephone users will soon find out what type of savings they will experience from long distance calling charges. The CRTC has requested NorthwesTel to submit by May 30th a plan that will bring competition to the long distance service in northern Canada. As of today, NorthwesTel is the only legal provider of long distance in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. The reason for this submission is because a southern based company, specializing in long distance carrier rates, filed a complaint about the NorthwesTel monopoly.
What has happened to date is that telephone companies charge higher long distance rates and this extra revenue was used to offset the cost of local service. Here in the north, NorthwesTel's local phone rates have continually increased over the past few years as a result of CRTC approval for rate rebalancing. The new submission as requested by CRTC could mean dramatic increases to the local phone rates. As one of the largest customers of NorthwesTel does the GNWT have a position on the plan to bring competition to the long distance market and has the GNWT looked at the implications if local users costs continue to rise?
Mr. Speaker, with job reductions, wage rollbacks, increased water and sewage costs, et cetera to the average GNWT resident, what will the impact of increased local phone rates have? For business and government, what will the extra cost of business be? Who will pay this extra cost? Will the cost be turned over to the consumer? Mr. Speaker, NorthwesTel must make its proposal available for public inspection during normal working hours at every NorthwesTel business office but who will be representing the local resident? The consumer? There is only one public meeting scheduled for the Northwest Territories and that is here in Yellowknife on June 24, 1997. Later today, I will be asking the appropriate Minister questions on this matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.