SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - An effort to allow Yellowknife hotels to start charging a one per cent hotel tax has stalled in the hands of the territorial government, says the president of the Yellowknife Hotel Association.

Jenni Bruce, president of the Yellowknife Hotel Association, said she's concerned an effort to allow individual municipalities to authorize hotels to charge a one per cent levy – money which would allow Yellowknife to market itself as a conference destination – has stalled with the GNWT. - NNSL file photo

Last May, the NWT Association of Communities voted in favour of lobbying the territorial government to legislate a territory-wide hotel levy. The money would be used by individual municipalities to market their communities to potential visitors.

Since then, the hotel association - the foremost cheerleader for the project - has refined its request, asking that legislation be written to allow individual municipalities to decide whether to adopt the tax.

In a scenario pitched for Yellowknife, city administration would collect the tax, charge the Northern Frontier Visitors Association an administration fee, and then release the funds to the association. The association would then use the money to attract more conferences to Yellowknife.

Michael Miltenberger, minister of finance, met with a number of territory-wide organizations, including the hotel association, to discuss the proposed tax during a round-table discussion in October.

Miltenberger's follow up report, tabled in December, stated that while "a municipal hotel room tax received general support from the roundtable participants," four out of five submissions sent to the minister after the meeting were not in favour of the tax.

Jenni Bruce, president of the hotel association and general manager of Chateau Nova, said nothing has happened since.

"We're not hearing anything; that's the problem" said Bruce. "We think there's a resistance from the GNWT" - specifically, the department of municipal and community affairs (MACA) - "to do the legislation ... The best we can gather is because maybe they're not clear that it's industry-driven."

Bruce isn't the only one concerned.

Last week in the legislative assembly, Robert Hawkins, MLA for Yellowknife Centre, accused Miltenberger of "resistance" to the levy.

After denying Hawkins' claim, Miltenberger pointed out that this year's budget calls for no further tax increases - which means a hotel tax likely won't happen until the next legislative assembly.

"Is there apprehension from the department of finance to creating a territorial tax from doing this type of initiative or do they just not want to do the work?" asked Hawkins. "Because as I understand it, tourism wants it and the hotel association supports this."

Miltenberger ultimately agreed to a meeting with the hotel association.

"We're going to meet with Miltenberger ... to see what he can do to help us with MACA," said Bruce on Monday. "We're waiting to see what dates he proposes."

Rebecca Alty, a spokesperson with the premier's office, said the department of finance needs to conduct further consultation with the tourism sector and communities about the association's proposal.

According to the hotel association, had a levy been in place in 2008, it would have generated $250,000 in revenue; in 2009, $200,000.

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