Mr. Chairman, the comments may be a little outside of what we're talking about in terms of amendments here. We're not asking for an amendment so the government can start collecting water bills and sewer bills. The municipalities already do that. The municipalities already collect property taxes. In the case of transferring the unpaid charges, it only applies to tax-based municipalities. If the Member is saying how can we fix something we couldn't fix, the responsibility has always been with the taxation body that collects it. This procedure was in place since the 1970s. There was an error when the new legislation was drafted up. Somehow it was left out, and the communities have asked us to put it back in place. So we're not transferring any responsibility over to the City or to the municipal taxation authorities. We're trying to rectify a problem that has occurred as a result of drafting new legislation, and we want them to have the ability to be able to collect unpaid service bills without having to go through the expense of hiring a collection agency or going to the courts. Thank you.
Michael McLeod on Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
In the Legislative Assembly on October 14th, 2005. See this statement in context.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
October 14th, 2005
Page 288
See context to find out what was said next.