SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The consensus among representatives from various political, business, labour, social and environmental groups in the territory is a revenue-neutral carbon tax is worth considering.

Margaret Melhorn, deputy minister of finance, and Michael Miltenberger, minister of finance, listen to feedback from the 18 participants at the third annual roundtable discussion on revenue options on Thursday. - Nicole Veerman/NNSL photo Roundtable participants Kevin O'Reilly, Alternatives North Mike Peters, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers Doug Ritchie, Ecology North Jim Kinney, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation Therese Villeneuve, Native Women's Association of the NWT Jay Dilley, Northern Air Transport Association Ben McDonald, Northern Territories Federation of Labour Tom Hoefer, NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines Gord Van Tighem, NWT Association of Communities Ann-Marie Tout, NWT Chamber of Commerce David Reid, NWT Teachers' Association Jenni Bruce, NWT Tourism Ruth Ann Elemie, Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated James Wong, Society of Management Accountants of NWT Lorraine Phaneuf, Status of Women Council of the NWT Jackoline Milne, Territorial Farmers Association John Hazenberg, Tlicho Territory Government Brad Brake, Union of Northern Workers

After Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger's third yearly roundtable discussion on revenue options on Thursday, the 18 representatives in attendance agreed there are many details that need to be worked out before a carbon tax can be implemented in the North, but they're interested to hear more.

"There was cautious optimism," said Mayor Gord Van Tighem after the discussions.

"To me, I've said it before, the devil's in the details.

"We now know that there's a concept coming forward, until we see exactly how it comes forward we can't say that the way we do it is good or better or different, but there's enough examples out there now that hopefully the NWT can come back with a made-in-the-North system that will work."

Van Tighem said the key is to ensure people in smaller communities and lower income levels aren't being penalized.

"It's a good thing for the planet, but it has to come in a way that makes sense to where we live because realistically there are communities, there are individuals (and there are) families that don't have an option, so that has to be considered as well."

A carbon tax could apply to a variety of fossil fuels, including gasoline, diesel, natural gas, propane and coal used in transportation, energy generation and home heating. According to the discussion paper given to the roundtable participants, the tax would increase the price of these fuels by about two cents a litre.

During the discussion, the group looked at examples from British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta, the only Canadian jurisdictions to introduce a carbon tax.

Like Van Tighem, many at the roundtable expressed concern about how the tax will work in the North.

Miltenberger said although much of what is being proposed is based on the British Columbia revenue-neutral model, "We're not just going to transplant things holus-bolus and assume they're going to work, but we will also save a lot of energy if we look at the good work that others are doing, to see if it's applicable."

British Columbia is the only province with a revenue-neutral carbon tax, intended to reduce the use of fossil fuels rather than to raise new revenue. To offset the impact of the tax, the province created income tax credits and tax rate reductions for residents and businesses.

"If in fact we are able to achieve a revenue-neutral, cost-neutral, not add to the tax burden approach to the carbon tax, then it shouldn't (have an impact on businesses)," said Miltenberger.

"It was part of the general caution that low income, small communities, business, everybody wants to know what the impact will be, so we have to have thought it out and be very measured going forward to make sure we can address a lot of those concerns."

Ann-Marie Tout, president of the NWT Chamber of Commerce, said there wasn't enough information to show how a revenue-neutral carbon tax would be applied to different areas of business.

"It hasn't been that clearly defined yet. And I think that's part of the work that needs to be done," she said.

Revenue-neutral or not, the Chamber of Commerce is opposed to any new taxes, said Tout.

"We're particularly concerned that until the economy recovers that we don't further penalize businesses and we also are concerned about losing any competitive edge we may have against other jurisdictions that don't face a carbon tax," she said.

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