Agreed.

Agreed.

Agreed.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Under the senior citizen and disabled property tax, there was a motion passed last year in the House here that this government should do everything it could to ensure that municipalities did not place a maximum on the taxes that were forgiven for seniors because senior citizens are primarily on a fixed budget. I would like to know what steps have been taken to ensure that communities do not place a ceiling on the taxes that are forgiven. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. With regards to the senior citizens' tax relief, generally the way it works is there are two different systems or means of addressing it. One is through the GTA, as we call it, or the general taxation area, and there is also the municipal taxation area, which generally is the six tax-based municipalities. With regards to the property tax relief, generally, if you are a senior you can receive tax relief up to a certain percentage. I think part of the problem that I think you are referring to is where the GTA or the general taxation area have been providing relief to senior citizens, whether or not both of the partners were senior citizens.

There was a concern expressed by the municipal taxation authorities that there was a benefit that was available to senior citizens in the general taxation area, but not in the municipal taxation area. The department has reviewed the situation and it is prepared to recommend changes to the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Tax Relief Act so that tax relief would go to senior citizens and it would not be based on the co-ownership of the property. If you are a senior citizen then you would be entitled to tax relief. For example, if you were a senior citizen and your spouse was not, you would be entitled to receive 50 percent tax relief. That is the approach that we have been recommending and we will be looking to initiate these changes hopefully for the year 2000-2001. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I believe that was half of our motion or it may have been a separate motion. The one I am talking about is municipalities where there is municipal taxation and they place a cap on the amount of money that they will forgive and particularly in Yellowknife. Senior citizens, if their house is valued beyond a certain level, I am not sure how much it is, they might only receive $1,000 and after that, the taxes over that, then that senior citizen has to pay his own taxes. I think that senior citizens, for the most part, are on fixed incomes. They may still have a big house, it still may be worth lots, but that does not mean that they have an unlimited amount of money coming in so that they can pay for those taxes beyond the cap that the City of Yellowknife has put on it.

We had passed a motion here. I believe that everybody in the House or everybody on this side anyways, voted against it. Some of those guys were over here then too. I believe we all voted for it. What I would like to know is what steps has the department taken to try and ensure that communities such as Yellowknife do not place a cap on the taxes? The GNWT does not, but yet the City is doing that to citizens who we are trying to keep in the north and who we are trying to keep in their own homes. If people cannot afford to pay their taxes, they are going to sell their house and move into social housing which is free. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. My understanding is that the rebate that is provided is tied into the amount of funding that the department provides to the municipality and in order to eliminate the cap there would have to be more funding provided from the department to the municipalities. That is my understanding of the way the tax rebate or relief for senior citizens works.

Madam Chairperson, I believe the way it works is that if the GNWT gives $500 for tax rebate, the city of Yellowknife will also provide $500. It is a matching thing. That is the way it was last year anyway, unless it has changed. It is not tied to the amount of money that we provide, they simply put a cap on it saying that once your house is taxed at a certain level, we will not give you any more rebate. That is the way it was explained to us when we passed that motion.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I guess up to a certain point, once the money runs out, then, it has been my understanding that that is their rationale behind the cap on it. We would be prepared to get more detailed information and provide it to the Member if he wishes. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Can we get an indication of this amount of money that is being provided then? How is that amount established? This $155,000 right here.