Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again I think we’ve got the cart before the horse on this one, especially with the comments from the Minister with the recent conclusion of the Devolution Agreement-in-Principle. It’s the first step but I don’t think we’re even close to concluding the devolution agreement without all the parties at the table. I think, for myself, that is a total miscarriage of justice in regard to how Aboriginal people are being treated especially up and down the valley when it comes to devolution. Now we’re here in the House talking about a Heritage Fund to put all this cash, supposedly, that’s going to flow to the Government of the Northwest Territories and spend it every which way it feels fit.
I have to agree with my colleagues from the smaller communities that we have some varying demands on issues that people just take for granted such as the delivery of programs, regardless if it’s health care, education, infrastructure, capacity challenges, regardless if it’s human resource capacity, or even
the simple means to have the financial ability to build infrastructure in a lot of our communities.
I think it’s this type of legislation that makes people wonder exactly what is the priority of this government, knowing that we have more demands than resources but we are considering having a piggybank that we can put money away for a rainy day, but yet in most cases we don’t have money for mental health and addiction workers in all our communities, we don’t have police in 10 communities, we don’t have nursing services in 10 communities. I think, as government, before we start having these elaborate dream of exactly all this cash falling from the sky, that we should solve today’s problems and make sure that we have the means to take care of ourselves today and realize that the only way you’re going to move ahead is to have a healthy, vibrant Northwest Territories which includes 33 communities.
Again, I also think that I have to note that we are getting ripped off from the mining companies and the oil and gas companies in regard to our royalty systems, our way of basically allowing for diamonds to leave the Northwest Territories with a simple payroll tax, which is the only revenue that we have flowing from that industry, but yet in other parts of the world they basically have mineral taxes so that we retain a portion of the resources in the North or in the jurisdiction it comes from, in some cases up to 35 percent taxes on those products that leave the country, regardless if it’s South Africa or looking at other countries where the same types of businesses are taken care of.
I’d just like to ask the Minister exactly have we considered those other types of taxes, regardless if it’s by way of mineral leases, rentals, royalties, like a mineral tax, a sales tax of some sort so when the diamond or precious metals leave the Northwest Territories there’s going to be a tax attached to it so we retain our tax and it can go wherever it wants in the world, but at least that tax will be paid before it leaves the Northwest Territories. That was one of the options that had been thrown around, and I’d just like to know how are we going to be able to collect enough resources and revenues to make this idea work, and more importantly, have the revenue flowing to ensure that we have enough revenues to make this thing do what everybody is hoping it will do.
I have to agree the Alaska model is great. People don’t pay taxes in Alaska, but they definitely pay their share of royalties and basically mineral taxes that flow in that jurisdiction. I think that it’s that type of an idea that’s out there, but, again, we have to be conscious that we have to have the resources and we can’t simply consider taking money out of existing programs and services and having the means to do that.
With that, I’d like to ask the Minister exactly what are we going to do to ensure that wherever those resources come from and wherever the impact’s taking place, can you guarantee those communities and those regions that are going to be impacted by these developments will retain a portion of those royalties in those regions where those resources are being exploited. Thank you.