This is page numbers 763-836 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was mr chair.

Topics

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess for clarity, if it's a return ticket going to Edmonton and back you only get charged a $20 fee. If you're going within the Northwest Territories, it's a $10 fee no matter if it's a return ticket or a one-way ticket. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Cory Vanthuyne

Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can the department give a little bit further explanation around why these numbers were determined? I mean, I appreciate the Minister's comment as it relates to other jurisdictions having similar-sized airports, but I think that clearly we are in a very unique situation, especially being in a northern remote area, that we have to be very prudent and understanding of the effects that these types of fees can have on cost of living. I'm not suggesting that I'm opposed to the fees, but trying to capture 100 per cent cost recovery for maintenance and O and M operations of the airport right out of the gate is going to have some degree of sticker shock. And quite frankly I feel that people are going to really feel this effect in their pocketbook. Can the Minister maybe explain a little bit more why we're coming out with fees that seem to be fairly high, and why we wouldn't try to maybe get a 25 per cent or 50 per cent cost recovery on our airport operations at first? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I can see the Member's point, but we're just moving these fees to just to be the average. There is a number of other airports that charge a larger amount than we're proposing coming out of the gate. Going south, that's an average of 3.4 per cent we believe will be the increased cost of travelling on your ticket, and on a northern ticket it would be approximately one per cent. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Cory Vanthuyne

Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Often, a lot of other jurisdictions are putting fees on their tickets because they have a particular project or an airport expansion, or what have you, that they're trying to pay for. And respectfully, we don't seem to have that. This is one that's going to be introduced for perpetuity to help operate the airport independently from having to be subsidized by tax dollars as it currently is. I'm of the opinion that, if you're not trying to pay for a project or an airport expansion that would have a definite beginning and a definite end, then a fee of this nature and at this significant increase right out of the -- right at the beginning is going to have a fairly traumatic effect on folks as it relates to their pocketbook and the cost of living, which we're trying to reduce. And so I guess the question to the department is, you know, have they given consideration on what effects this might have on the cost of living and would there be any consideration maybe toward, you know, capturing maybe 50 per cent of the cost of operation of the airport rather than trying to do 100 per cent cost recovery right out of the gate? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just so we can make some clarity on some stuff, the AIF portion of the ticket will be going towards capital for the airport, and the other fees will be going towards O and M of the airport. To explain to the department why we're doing this, part of this is the fiscal situation that the GNWT is in, and this was one of the opportunities to raise some revenue. It's been looked at for a number of different Assemblies, and with the fiscal challenges that we are facing here lately, this was an opportunity for us that we thought we would bring this in to help offset some of the costs of running the airport. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Cory Vanthuyne

Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Chair. At this point, no further questions. I'll let others ask. Thank you.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Further questions? Mr. O'Reilly.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Mr. Chair. There seems to be a lot of numbers being thrown around in terms of predictions of revenues and so on. Does the Minister actually have a business case, or the projections? I guess, because -- yes, does the Minister have a business case and can he share that with the Regular MLAs? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are currently working on a business case and we will be willing to share that with the Members when we have that finished. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Minister. Mr. O'Reilly.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Glad to get that commitment out of the Minister. Any idea as to when we might see the business case? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are working on it and hopefully we'll be able to present it to the Members later this summer. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Minister. Mr. O'Reilly.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. I think part of the difficulty is going to be I think the department is bringing forward legislations to set this up, and to properly communicate and allow the standing committee to do its work, having the business case sooner than later would be very helpful. Because I do think that there needs to be a lot more communication done on this. The summer is a long time. Is it something that we can expect sooner than later? Because if the committee is going to do a good job looking at the legislation that's going to come forward for this, we need to know what the numbers are, and the public needs to know what the numbers are. So can the Minister give us a little bit more firm date than summer? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

June 23rd, 2016

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. You're more optimistic about the length of summer than I am. Minister Schumann.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. One of the things that we're also doing with this business case is we're already out doing consultation on this initiative, and that's some stuff that we'll be putting together as well. As far as the business case and getting it to committee sooner than later, I can't tell you the exact date, I know it's probably in draft form already, so as soon as we can get it done, sooner the better, we'll get it to the Members. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Minister. Mr. O'Reilly.