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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Food prices in Yellowknife have risen by more than five per cent since the Deh Cho Bridge opened to traffic 10 months ago, causing Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny to ask why.

The average price of food has risen since the opening of the Deh Cho Bridge last year. Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny said the bridge toll is leading to the higher prices for consumers. - NNSL file photo

Data tracked by Statistics Canada indicates that during six of the last eight months, food prices have risen in Yellowknife. Food prices had remained stable in 2011 and 2012, trending upward at the start of 2013.

The $202-million Deh Cho Bridge opened to traffic last year on Nov. 30.

Although a variety of variables may affect the rise in food prices in Yellowknife, including the transition of two Loblaws stores from corporate to franchise models, Dolynny argues the bridge tolls are taking a toll on consumers' pocketbooks.

"It's clear that the statistics are proving what a lot of us feared at the legislature - that the bridge was going to cost consumers a little bit more in the long run," Dolynny said earlier this week.

"What we're seeing is fees that are now being passed to consumers."

According to the Department of Transportation website, registered owners of all commercial vehicles above 4,500 kilograms are subject to a toll, depending on the number of axles on the vehicle and whether the driver is paying for a single crossing, or has a monthly remittance.

"Speaking to the retailers and speaking to the business community at large, it's quite clear that a lot of costs are embedded in the transportation, which clearly goes hand in hand with the opening of the Deh Cho Bridge and the transportation costs that are associated with actual prices," Dolynny said.

"Are the costs being applied fairly across the board for all trucks? Has the system been audited to make sure that we are capturing all the returns at the bridge, but more importantly, we've got to look at the consumer prices."

Bridge tolls were established based on an analysis of the overall costs to the trucking industry of the wait times for ferry crossings, such as overnight between midnight and 6 a.m. when the ferry was closed, and service interruptions due to spring breakup that used to be the norm, according to Earl Blacklock, manager of public affairs and communications for the Department of Transportation.

"There's always the possibility that trucking companies bring up their prices and blame the bridge for it," Blacklock said.

"For most food items in particular, (the bridge toll) is a very, very tiny cost of the overall cost of bringing those goods to the North."

Other costs were incurred by retail outlets prior to the construction of the bridge, Blacklock added, when companies such as Staples had to build warehouse facilities to stock surplus for times when the ferry was not operating.

An audit of bridge toll policies will likely happen "in due course" as part of the GNWT audit bureau's regular process, Blacklock said, adding his department will also revisit the current toll policy every few years.

"I would expect that any effect from the toll would be either negligible overall or would have some small cost saving," Blacklock said, adding the bridge allows smaller freight companies to compete in the North, which should keep costs low.

"Whatever change in food prices over the span of an entire year would not be from a toll, it would be from factors including profit-taking."

Dolynny said he will raise the issue of rising food prices and the role of bridge tolls after the fourth session of the 17th legislative assembly convenes on Oct. 17.

Transportation Minister David Ramsay, a vocal critic of the bridge when he was a regular MLA, was viewing shale oil fields in North Dakota, and could not be reached for comment.

Nationally, the consumer price index for food rose one per cent.

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