SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A new law passed by the 17th Legislative Assembly is set to increase the cost of electronics and Roy's Audio Video is concerned the move could put it out of business.

Robin Williams of Roy's Audio Video holds up the legislation that will implement a new fee of up to $40 to electronics purchased in the territory next year. Williams said if the new territorial government does not overturn this law, he is worried his business will have to close after more than four decades of operation. - Karen K. Ho/NNSL photo

"It truly scares me," owner Robin Williams told Yellowknifer on Saturday while his store was still preparing for this week's Black Friday sales.

Williams recently issued an open letter to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, MLA candidates, and other interested parties, outlining what he called his grave concerns over the changes made to the Waste Reduction and Recovery Act.

"I believe that policies put in place in the last session will have a dramatic effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace and unwittingly give an advantage to our competitors who do not have their roots in the North," he wrote on Nov. 17, adding that his store started almost 40 years ago as a Radio Shack and now employs 12 staff, many of whom have

worked decades for the family-owned business.

However, Williams is concerned about a change to the Waste Reduction and Recovery Act approved by the legislative assembly on Aug. 25.

While this change puts into place new regulations for the recycling of electronics, Williams said it also changed the competitive landscape when it came to the sale of electronics in the territory.

The act's new fees include surcharges for various electronic devices for the cost of proper collection and recycling.

Williams' argument is that while he and his business fully support the need to deal properly with electronic waste, his concern is that customers and retailers in the North are being asked to pay more than their counterparts in Alberta, the territory's closest competitor.

"In trying to do the right thing, we have inadvertently hurt local business and put incentives on doing business in the south," he wrote.

According to Alberta Recycling Management Authority documents, the environmental fees in Alberta are $4.80 for printers, $1.20 for laptops, tablets and notebooks and $4 for visual displays (televisions and monitors) less than 30 inches and $10 for screens larger than 30 inches.

By comparison, the new surcharges in the territory according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources under the amendments to the Waste Reduction and Recovery Act are $3 for portable computers, $10.50 for desktop computers and servers, $8 for desktop printers, $12.25 for displays less than 30 inches and $40 for display devices greater than 45 inches.

Williams said this means a consumer who wishes to buy a 48-inch Samsung TV on Feb. 2, the day after the surcharges go into effect, will see a price difference of $31.50 between a model in his store and the exact same one in a store in Grande Prairie, Alta.

"In this new regulatory environment, no matter how well I run my business or how good a deal I can negotiate with my suppliers, I will always be more expensive than the south," he said. "Not through my own doing but because of a tax."

Williams, whose store website sports the tagline "same price, expert advice," said he has been battling the prejudice that everything is less expensive down south for his entire professional career.

He told Yellowknifer about corporate contracts and large sales volumes that have allowed for partnerships with suppliers like Samsung to grant Roy's "prepaid freight," reducing costs and allowing him to offer the city's residents the same prices as down south.

But he said all that work could be wiped out due to these new fees. Williams argued national retailers in town like The Brick or Walmart won't be affected like Roy's due to the legislation because those competitors have warehouses and distribution centres in other parts of the country where these fees won't apply.

"I cannot begin to describe how defeated I feel as a result," he said, adding that he may have to consider moving Roy's warehouse to Alberta due to the effect on prices come Feb. 1. Or worse, shut the store down if there is a significant enough decline in volume.

Ultimately, Williams would like the newly elected members of the 18th Legislative Assembly to re-examine the fees in the Electronics Recycling Regulations of the Waste Reduction and Recovery Act.

While he said Kieran Tiestart and Glen Abernethy both spoke to Williams soon after he sent out his letter, he wants this to become a serious issue among all the candidates, especially after so many brought up the cost of living during their campaigns.

"No one is talking about this," he said. "Someone always pays in the end."

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources did reply to an interview request but could not have the interview subject available by press time.

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