Finance Minister Joe Handley put on his work boots and pulled out his chequebook to pay for roads, education and health
Kevin Wilson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Feb 19/01) - "Well spoken, Joe," was the common response following last Thursday's budget address by Finance Minister Joe Handley.
| Budget Highlights
|
Handley credited several factors for the territories improved financial picture, including, "a large, fortuitous one-time increase in corporate tax collections," and stronger formula financing revenues. NWT earned an extra $18 million from corporate taxes.
With estimated 2001-2002 revenues of $792,802, Handley sporting a brand new pair of "Made in Canada" Kodiak work boots and wearing a yellow rose in his lapel, pledged that the NWT would soon be the "Texas of the North."
One item in the budget may end up hitting Northerners in the pocketbooks, though.
To finance $100 million in improvements to the NWT's existing highway system, Handley is proposing that tolls be imposed on commercial trucking activity in the NWT.
In an interview, Handley acknowledged that higher costs for transportation will raise the price of consumer goods in the territory.
"It will be passed on to consumers," he said.
The government plans to increase the territorial Cost of Living Tax Credit to offset higher prices. However, the credit will apply equally to all residents of the NWT, although the tolls will have a different cost of living impact on different regions.
Handley said finance officials had calculated that a household in Inuvik would pay an extra $35.40 every year for consumer goods because of the tolls, while a household in Yellowknife would pay an extra $275.
"It would be a nightmare," to administer the credit program equitably across all regions.
Northerners who have been hit hard by the high cost of fuel will get some relief from Handley. Eligible homeowners who buy their own home heating fuel will receive a one time fuel rebate of $320. Eligible renters living in eligible apartments will receive $150. Eligibility is based upon income.
Something for everyone
Even so, MLA's wonder how it's all going to happen
Joe Handley's "ambitious" budget will sow the seeds of economic development across the Northwest Territories, MLA's say.
If passed, the 2001-2002 budget will spend nearly $800 million, with a massive infusion of cash in NWT's transportation infrastructure.
However, it's the "details," that matter to the MLA's who don't sit at the cabinet table.
Yellowknife Frame Lake MLA Charles Dent, who chairs the Legislature's Accountability and Oversight committee warned that "God is in the details."
His cohort, Yellowknife South MLA Brendan Bell, was of a similar mind. When asked about the budget, "The devil's in the details" was his reply.
Legislators across NWT aren't quibbling with the "whys" of this budget. NWT's roads have been a sore point for years.
It's the "hows" that have them worried.
Floyd Roland, MLA for Inuvik Boot Lake, said the government is "going to have to borrow, and borrow big time," to pay for what's been promised in the budget.
That's a big problem when the government's debt limit, set by Ottawa, is $300 million. Unless Ottawa raises that figure says Roland, "by the year 2003, we'll be over our debt wall."
The construction of a new hospital and new facility for female young offenders in Inuvik are welcome and long-overdue, according to Roland. However, he said federal funding that had previously been allocated to the hospital project went into general revenues and has been spent.
Tu Nedhe MLA Steven Nitah said that the proposed upgrading of the highway to Fort Resolution is long overdue, but that won't do anything for his constituents in Lutselk'e.
Handley's proposed tolls on commercial trucking mean that the "price of food will go up accordingly," for Nitah's constituents.
As for other elements of the budget, Nitah said fuel rebates are nice, but they don't begin to reflect the soaring price of energy.
"The $125 rebate (for trappers who have harvested at least $500 in fur) is a good gesture, but it doesn't go far enough," said Nitah.
Hay River North MLA Paul Delorey said that, "personally, it's hard to say anything," against this budget.
"There's something in there for everybody."
He, like other MLA's, pointed to the $100 million road proposal and new investments in education as necessary investments. Nevertheless, he worries about the effects of the proposed tolls.
The Department of Finance admits that the expected $15 million annual cost of the tolls will be passed on to consumers.
"That might sound good when you say it quickly," said Delorey, but he wonders "what the effect is going to be for the consumer."
That's a particular concern for an MLA in a riding that hasn't had a full-time doctor in many months.
"We have a hard time getting professionals to live in the North, and cost of living is a large part of that."
