Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week in this House, I raised the issue of the potential massive increases to municipalities with their general liability insurance. As it has turned out, it has in fact been massive. It has been almost so exponential that obviously the insurance companies, who see an opportunity for some windfall profits using the reason and excuse of Walkerton, have decided to really take a piece out of the hide of the municipalities.
Mr. Speaker, we are talking big dollars. In my community, the increase is almost 70 to 80 percent, almost $80,000. I understand Yellowknife's rates are going from $250,000 to almost $500,000. Every other community is going to have a similar increase.
Mr. Speaker, this is a significant cost. It is over $1 million for the whole Northwest Territories and all of the communities. This is at a time when there have been fuel increases, there are going to be power increases, there have been fee increases of various kinds. Mr. Speaker, it is unanticipated. I hope Municipal and Community Affairs will be looking at this very seriously.
There are some other far-reaching implications, Mr. Speaker. If, for example, a major player like Yellowknife decides they are going to take their business elsewhere and try to find insurance at a cheaper rate somewhere else, then there is a good possibility that the NWTAM will cease to exist as we know it. It will also mean the current insurance plan will cease to exist as we know it because without Yellowknife as the anchor tenant of the program, I understand there are not enough dollars to keep the plan going.
We are going to have a significant situation. Mr. Speaker, we are also faced with another harsh reality. The harsh reality is that of time. The current insurance plan lapses or concludes at the end of March, which gives us less than a month to work out a satisfactory affordable solution to this very serious problem. Later today when we review the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, I will be asking the Minister how he intends to put his shoulder to the wheel and work with the communities to try to resolve this very serious problem. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.