Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to go back to my own favourite Minister, the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. The situation for consumer protection that I described earlier today, I think, is one that requires some improvement. I would like to think there is more to a complaints process than hoping customers can work it out with retailers. Can the Minister tell me what specific actions her department is taking to protect our consumers, tourists, and the reputation of our northern products? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actions that we are currently taking to address the needs of consumers within the Northwest Territories, basically I want to state that we don't get a lot of complaints. First of all, we have only gotten 18 complaints in the last three years. Changes to the act are usually made based on the number of complaints that we receive. We are wondering if that is maybe a communication problem.

In this fiscal year, we have developed a plain-language guide on the current consumer affairs programming and what we do. Within that guide we have where we explain the government's role in consumer protection, we are explaining consumer's rights and their responsibilities, we are explaining the consumer's protections available for the residents of the Northwest Territories in the areas that we currently regulate, and we are providing a simple method by which residents can lodge consumer complaints. This document will be spread widely this coming spring, and we will be looking at a broader campaign to improve consumer awareness. Basically, what we are doing right now is trying to put in awareness that we are there and just letting the consumers know where they can go to for assistance on consumer issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister for her response. It is good to hear that there is a campaign that is going to get under way, and I look forward to getting a copy of the booklet.

We have a lot of tourists who come through the Northwest Territories, and they really do rely on making sure that our advertising is accurate and fair. I know our government does license tourism operators, although it might be a different Minister. What kind of collaboration is there between MACA, consumer affairs staff, and ITI tourism licensing staff to ensure tourists and the reputation of our Northern products are protected?

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs regularly works with ITI on consumer-related tourism issues. However, most of them are related to public safety, such as fire protection, etc. Again, we haven't had a lot of complaints. We tend to work when we have complaints in the area. Any time there is an issue, we work cross-departmentally to define those. We also work federally as well, because the federal government also has a role in consumer complaints. When the issues are federal, we will work with them as well to address the issues.

Thanks again to the Minister for that response. Once we promote consumer protection a little bit better, maybe there is going to be a need for better collaboration there too. I am just wondering if the Minister can tell me when the last comprehensive review of the consumer protection act was undertaken?

The last review to the Consumer Protection Act was last updated in 2011. However, it was only looked at in relation to the cost-of-credit disclosure, so that was the last time that the act was actually reviewed.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. It is good to know that the last time it was looked at was 2011, and I understand that the Minister has a lot on her plate in terms of legislation. We have got 911; City, Towns, and Villages Act; Fire Prevention Act, and so on. It seems to be a long legislative slumber in the department going on. I am not making it a demand for immediate action on this issue of improving consumer protection, but can the Minister commit to placing the need for improved consumer protection into the departmental business planning and report to the standing committee this fall with when we can expect some further improvements in the Consumer Protection Act? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In an effort to try to keep as many of the Regular MLAs saying that I am their favourite Minister, what I will do is I will add these changes to the list of acts and regulations that we will be bringing to the five communities to review it on their priority list so that the communities actually can delegate which are the priorities, which ones we should be dealing with first. Then I can bring that back to the MLAs.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke of the understaffing at the rental office and the negative effects that it has on landlords, who are essentially small-business owners. I am sure the Minister of Justice, in his former life as a small-town lawyer, has fielded questions from landlords on how they can evict a delinquent tenant or how they can collect on arrears, so I am sure he is very familiar with this issue. I would like to ask the Minister: what steps will the Department of Justice take to reduce the wait times and restore landlords' confidence in the rental office? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Justice.

Mr. Speaker, the average time between the filing of an application and the actual hearing in the Northwest Territories is two to three months, and that is consistent or about the same as you would find in other jurisdictions. We have been trying to make the system more efficient by, for example, using three-way teleconferencing and scheduling face-to-face hearings outside Yellowknife. I know, in 2015-16, 61 per cent of the applications were heard within 60 days and, the prior year to that, only 55 per cent were herd within 60 days. If the load continues to increase, certainly, I think an option we could consider is the appointment of a second rental officer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister mentioned that it is consistent with other jurisdictions. It seems like it is convenient to be uniquely Northern and have a unique situation in the North when it benefits us, but it is okay to be consistent with other jurisdictions when it benefits the government, as well.

There have been significant efforts across departments to collect arrears tied to public housing, and these hearings have been partially responsible for the long wait times to the rental office. It is private landlords who really bolster the availability of rental housing in the communities and really add to the economy, and they have just as much right to be paid by tenants as the Housing Corporation, so is the department going to take any steps to support private landlords in collecting arrears instead of focusing their efforts on the government itself?

All applicants are treated equally, whether landlord or tenant, and there is no special preference given to the government in its applications before the rental officer.

I suppose when the biggest client is the government, it seems like that is a little unfair when it is a government office and the biggest client is the government. It is not the public, really, being served.

I think that, if the department formally assessed the business case for increasing the complement at the rental office to at least two permanent, full-time rental officers, it would see that this is a net benefit for the territory. Those thousands of dollars of revenue that landlords miss out on when tenants can't be evicted in a timely manner and the lowering of rates when there are more rental units available, I think it would pay dividends to have another rental officer there. Will the department formally assess the business case for adding another rental officer to the rental office?

Yes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That might be the first commitment from the Minister this Assembly. Thank you. Thank you to the Minister.

I am sure the Minister is aware of this. There are problems collecting costs for damages. A tenant might leave, causing more damages than the damage deposit covers, and it is very difficult for the small landlords to collect on these. Is the department doing anything to help out small landlords collect on these damages? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the issue raised by the Member opposite is a problem generated with civil judgments that collection is always difficult, whether it is a judgment for arrears or on a contract. I don't think the problems are any greater in this situation as they are in any other civil cases, so I don't think we are contemplating change of legislation.

The whole point of the Residential Tenancies Act was to establish a balance between landlord and tenant. I do appreciate that that balance, when it comes to residences as opposed to commercial tenancies, is somewhat weighted in favour of the tenant, but the legislation is consistent with other jurisdictions.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today I spoke about the need to take action on very high rents in the City of Yellowknife. The Minister yesterday committed to developing a new rent supplement program by the end of six months. Can the Minister provide a bit more detail about the development of that program and what the scope of it is going to entail? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.