Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In a recent report given by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, it said that 48 percent of NWT respondents cited WCB premiums as a harmful tax to small business. This is something that we need to pay close attention to, Mr. Speaker, because small business is the backbone of our community and it is a bellwether of our good, solid economy in the Territories.
When I look at the situation, I can understand why franchise operators say that the WCB premiums are such a concern. Their rates are $2.93 per $100, Mr. Speaker, which is nearly twice as much paid by their counterparts in the Yukon. That is well above the rest of Canadian provinces. They have seen increases over the past several years of 25 percent or more each year. Mr. Speaker, in all fairness to WCB, that is because they have been taking out the subsidy but that still does not allude to the fact, or take away the facts, that the premiums are still very high.
The ultimate goal, Mr. Speaker, should be that the WCB is about preventing accidents and injuries. It seems obvious to me that we should be rewarding good safety practices and we should be punishing poor practices. Franchises follow national mandatory safety programs and standards, Mr. Speaker, or else they get their franchise operation licence pulled. WCB has to place them in a class that represents really what they do and recognize the efforts that they take to safety procedures. As a result, we should be recognizing, again, safe practices and finding ways to eliminate bad practices.
Mr. Speaker, we need to start rewarding good ones. I am going to give you some suggestions. First, we need to start by looking at franchises and moving them to a class that truly represents the efforts that they make towards safety. Mr. Speaker, second, the WCB needs to start cracking down on businesses that do not have adequate safety procedures in place and have poor records. Finally, when businesses violate these safety items, just like the Liquor Act, the Public Health Act, or whatever, they should be cracking down with real penalties and possibly even enforcing closures if they are not operating a safe business.
Mr. Speaker, in some places out there, this is a first job for many young people. We want to make sure that they are working and learning skills in a safe environment. I will have questions for the Minister later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause