Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Late in December 2014, the Department of Transportation issued a notice regarding the proposed amendments to the Deh Cho Bridge Regulations. These regulations established a legal administrative framework for the tolling system of the Deh Cho Bridge, and with any amendments, they must first undergo a public review.
Registered owners of northbound commercial vehicles over 4,500 kilograms crossing the Deh Cho Bridge are required to pay a toll. Thankfully, private vehicles are not required to pay this toll.
The Minister and department know exactly where I’m going with this today because I believe we are tolling one classification of vehicles wrongly and penalizing a small but influential group in the Northwest Territories. This group is the hardworking small business owners.
Many small business owners, for the purposes of business, buy two-wheel and four-wheel drive trucks. In fact, just drive around the North and spot all the half-ton trucks and three-quarter-ton trucks on the roads with commercial plates. Keep in mind these commercial vehicle trucks travelling northbound on the Deh Cho Bridge in themselves are under the 4,500 kilogram threshold for a toll. However, the moment you attach a trailer, a holiday camper or a boat, you almost immediately cross this threshold. According to even the basic Ford F-150 regular cab, when equipped properly has a maximum conventional towing capacity of 5,500 kilograms, well above the 4,500 kilogram load for the Deh Cho Bridge toll limit.
So what does this mean, Mr. Speaker? Simple. This is a cash grab from the hardworking small business owners who might be just using their fully legal small business truck to promote tourism, go fishing, go hunting, or maybe help a friend move. So, to the question, what business is it of the
GNWT to single out this one classification of small business owners and expect a $95 toll? What does this accomplish? My suspicion is very little in terms of revenue, but a huge inconvenience for small business owners.
Instead, I challenge the Department of Transportation to use an honour system that small business owners with half-ton and three-quarter-ton commercial trucks. The policy could be simple. They pay a toll when they are indeed crossing the bridge for business purposes and be allowed to use this bridge freely when pulling a boat or trailer or an RV.
Mr. Speaker, you want to lower the cost of living? It starts with tolls that make sense for Northerners. Thank you.