INUVIK - The NWT Department of Transportation has raised licensing and registration rates for the first time in more than 10 years.

"There are a number of factors which contributed to the increase," said Department of Transportation spokesperson Earl Blacklock.

Dave Kaufman of Beckett Business Centre handles all licence renewals and applications in Inuvik. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

Blacklock said the amount of work required to provide licensing has increased in the last decade, significantly with the switchover to the new secure driver's licences. The cost of maintaining service providers in the smaller communities has also risen.

"We need to ensure the providers of service in the smaller communities are fairly compensated," he said.

The Department of Transportation contracts local businesses and hamlet offices to handle driver and vehicle licensing in communities where it's not feasible to have a full issuing office like the one in Yellowknife.

Blacklock said the fees are broken down into the basic fee, plus a service charge which was introduced in 1997, and then the necessary taxes.

He said the increases, which went into effect in mid-April, are a boost in the service fees, which are used to ensure territorial residents are provided with equal service. The increases range from $3 to $5, and a few fees haven't changed. Blacklock said the price of a driver's abstract has not gone up, while a class 5 driver's exam has gone up to $33 from $30, and a five-year class 5 driver's licence has increased to $87 from $83. A full list of the new fees is on the department's website.