Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 22/01) - The highway toll is dead.

A committee of MLAs last week rejected the proposed plan to charge fees for hauling goods and equipment on NWT highways.

BHP spokesperson Graham Nicholls told the committee reviewing the proposed highway toll the mining company will consider other transportation options, including dirigibles and Bathurst Inlet, if the cost of road transport gets any higher. - Richard Gleeson/NNSL photo

As a result, the legislative assembly will consider the commercial vehicle trip permit act, as the bill proposing the toll is known, no further.

MLAs are free to propose other ways of achieving the toll's objective of raising funds for highway improvements.

"Everybody agreed we need more work on our highways, this just isn't the tool to do it," said Hay River MLA Paul Delorey, a member of the committee.

Delorey said the committee will be passing on alternatives to the assembly, but noted the territorial government's ability to raise new money is severely limited by its funding agreement with the federal government.

The rejection caught few people by surprise. Committee member and Yellowknife MLA Bill Braden referred to the "avalanche" of public opposition to the toll at hearings in Inuvik, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Hay River and Norman Wells.

The committee may suggest alternatives in a report it will submit to the assembly during the sitting that begins tomorrow.

Diamond opposition

Representatives of diamond mining companies targeted by the toll last week said BHP and Diavik already contribute a total of $6 million annually in fuel taxes that the government could put into the highway system.

BHP spokesperson Graham Nicholls said if the high cost of hauling goods and equipment to the Lac de Gras diamond fields gets any higher, the owner of Ekati will look for alternatives.

"We'll get creative and look at dirigibles and look at highway linkages from Bathurst Inlet," Nicholls said.

Nicholls and Diavik spokesman Pierre Leblanc said the government underestimates the impact the toll will have on the cost-of-living by overestimating how much of it would come from mining companies.

Mining companies account for "well under" 30 per cent of NWT highway use, Nicholls said. The government estimates 40 per cent of the $12.7-$15.5 million in annual net revenue would come from mining companies.

Toll fees charged for transport of goods sold in the north would be passed on to consumers, contributing to an increase in the cost-of-living.

Political stakes high

The committee will make its recommendations to the legislative assembly during the sitting that begins Tuesday. If the assembly rejects bill, the government will be left in an awkward position.

Recognizing that the cost-of-living has increased in the Northwest Territories and anticipating it will increase further with the road toll, the legislative assembly has already approved an increase in the cost-of-living tax credit.

The increase will reduce government revenue by $2.7 million.

There is no relief in sight from the federal government. Two weeks ago Northern Development Minister Robert Nault announced there will be no new money for NWT highways.

"It's easy for Robert Nault to say no," Delorey said. "

But what is the answer, shut the territory down because we don't have the infrastructure to support development?"

An initiative to negotiate a share of resource royalties for the North is reportedly two or three years from completion.

New toll numbers by Richard Gleeson Northern News Services NWT A new study indicates the government underestimated the impact of the highway toll on the cost-of-living by as much as 288 per cent.

Commissioned by the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, the study government impact figures were based on a number of incorrect assumptions.

Only groceries, heating fuel and motor fuel were considered in the calculation. The consulting firm that prepared the study, Ellis Consulting Services, said the freight such as building materials, snowmobiles, trucks and many other consumer goods and services should also be taken into account.

The government assumed that all trucks haul their maximum weight capacity. The consultancy that prepared the study, Ellis Consulting Services, said trucks on average haul 60 to 70 per cent maximum load.