This is page numbers 1265 - 1329 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 3rd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was chairman.

Further Return To Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1271

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am prepared to look at the question and the request that the Member is raising. We should note that we are on the brink of perhaps addressing many of the global issues, national issues that are being raised in the governments and countries of North America today.

The United States believes it may be in a crisis for power and energy sources. There is talk of a North American energy policy that would address environmental concerns as well as a need for cleaner, more affordable, reliable sources of power, whether it is natural gas, diesel, hydro, or other forms of power.

How we will fit into that as a government, as a Territory, is something that I think we need to start working on, because otherwise someone else will answer the question for us. So we are prepared to look at that and always in the forefront is how can we ensure, whether we sell it, provide it, that power is then delivered to our constituents who elected us to make sure that they benefit from the generation of power and the supply of power that is affordable to them. Whether it is brought to their door as affordable, or whether we find a way to subsidize it in the way that we manage our other supplies of power. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1271

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. According to the Arctic Energy Alliance, in a letter I received from them after asking questions on whether there was any consultation in the Dogrib region when they did their study, they said there was none, but if there was a need for a feasibility study, they were willing to do it. Will the Minister commit to getting a study underway soon? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1271

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Further Return To Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1271

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, I cannot make that commitment because I am not sure of what all was done. I know there has been work done in a number of areas by different parties over the years, so as I said, I will commit to the Member to look at it and try to respond to him in the next few days. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Question 395-14(3): Hydro Power Delivery In The Dogrib Region
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1271

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

February 26th, 2001

Page 1271

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today goes to the Minister of Finance. I would like to follow up on my Member's statement earlier today. Mr. Speaker, I indicated yesterday on some of the gaps and inequities in the rebate policy that is resulting in excluding a number of residents in our city of Yellowknife who could really do with a break on the fuel price.

Today I talked about the commercial operators who will be excluded from this, and the fact that, Mr. Speaker, I want to add that fuel tax in the Northwest Territories is the highest in the country, or one of the highest, and the GNWT is the biggest victim of that. It pays most of the tax.

My question to the Minister is whether or not, would he not consider giving himself a break and reducing the fuel tax? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1271

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to mention that we already do give a pretty good break to all of the residents of the Northwest Territories in terms of their heating costs. The GNWT does not have any tax at all on heating fuel or on propane that is used to heat people's homes. We recognize that heating costs are high and have been high for a long time. We have a long, cold winter.

When it comes to other taxes, we do have tax on motor fuels and non-motor. Those are at 10.6 cents for motor gasoline and 9.1 cents for diesel fuel. These taxes may appear to be high, they are not the highest in the country, I do not believe, but I think they are fairly reasonable taxes. Fuel taxes are one of our very limited sources of revenue. If we were to reduce this, then it reduces our flexibility to provide support in a lot of programs, including programs like our one-time heating rebate we are considering, our support to social programs and so on.

I do not believe that reducing the fuel tax, most of which is paid by large corporations, is a good way of helping people who are most in need. Thank you.

Return To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Minister Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am trying to be constructive in trying to deal with some of the inequities and gaps in this rebate policy that are becoming evident. I wonder if the Minister would consider then expanding, increasing the tax credit for every resident in the North to deal with some of this pressure from the heating costs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in the budget address, the government is looking at an increase in the Northern Tax Credit. My department is working on that now. Certainly as we consider increasing the tax credit, we look at the cost of living in the North.

Further Return To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Questions supplementaire, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for his positive response. I look forward to hearing the results of his review. My question now is whether or not the Minister would consider revisiting the situation I was talking to him about yesterday between a tenant and landlord scenario, where the tenant who is not paying for the fuel may benefit from this rebate and the landlord who is paying for the fuel will not. I wonder if the Minister could just make the commitment to revisit that scenario. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, I appreciate the Member is wanting to be helpful and is putting forward some suggestions and talking with me about the way to make this a better program. I certainly support that. As I said yesterday, I will look at any suggestions that are coming forward and I welcome them.

We have to keep in mind though that the objective of this program is not to provide everyone with a rebate as it is designed, but rather to focus on those who are most in need. I really do not know that we want to compromise too much on the timeliness of this either. We need to get it out there quickly. There are a lot of people who are hurting in being able to pay their heating bill. We want to get this out fast.

There has to be a bit of a compromise between keeping this program simple and maybe having to do some broad categories of people, excluding some or maybe seeming to be unfair to some individuals, but dealing with our population in categories that capture those people who most need help. I am trying to balance this, keep it fairly simple, keep it timely and at the same time help those who are most in need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Handley. La dernier questions supplementaire, final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister is constantly exercising a balancing act, but I just want to let the Minister know that I think the general sense I get from my constituents is that even if they are not eligible for this policy, they just want to be assured that it is done fairly. They understand that it has to be done quickly and economically. However, if they see too many situations where people who are not paying for the bill are getting twice a subsidy, one from...

Supplementary To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, I will ensure the House that I intend to be fair and take into consideration the needs of all people, try to keep to a very minimum those who may feel it is unfair to their particular situation. Most importantly, I want to make sure that this is helping those who are most in need and doing it in a timely way. Thank you very much.

Further Return To Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Question 396-14(3): Reduction Of Fuel Taxes
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Question 397-14(3): Code Of Conduct For Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1272

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat and relate to the code of conduct that he introduced to us yesterday.

Mr. Speaker, the conflict of interest panel in April, 1999, recommended legislation covering deputy ministers because policies and employment contracts, and I quote: "only give rise to civil suits for damages or dismissal for breach of contract."

Mr. Speaker, why has the government not come forward with legislation covering deputy ministers to accompany the code?

Question 397-14(3): Code Of Conduct For Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1273

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 397-14(3): Code Of Conduct For Employees
Question 397-14(3): Code Of Conduct For Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1273

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I again request the Member to be patient. We are doing this step by step in order to be able to implement the code as quickly as possible. We cannot get it all together all at once. I think this code is a good first step. I assure the Member that we are looking at bringing forward a legislative proposal that will cover deputy ministers. Thank you.