Michael Miltenberger

If there is consistent will expressed by committee, SCOPP, for example, that we need to have a review of the tax rates on alcohol production, beer production, and if they make that clear to us, we will have a discussion about that. But I would suggest to the Member you can’t just pick a micro-brewery and talk about some kind of modified favourable tax rate. We would have to be prepared to talk about taxes on alcohol, what’s our position on alcohol, how do we want to manage the business piece along with dealing with the incredible social impact that we know exists in every one of our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We need to look at this issue. I would suggest a broader perspective of why we have placed such a high cost on alcohol. Having spent a good number of years in social services, five and a half years as Health Minister, I can tell you it’s because the abuse of alcohol costs this government over $100 million a year, probably more if you add in all the costs related to hospitals and FASD children. We just approved in this House, I think about $11 million for residents down south, the majority of which, if you checked the case files, would have alcohol abuse in there...

I’ll commit to the Member to get him a complete list of sites in the Sahtu, federal and territorial, as they currently exist today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are well aware of that. From what I recollect, that is one of the waste sites that the federal government has kept to be remediated. Thank you.

ENR has been doing work all winter and is concluding that work in the coming months to work with the communities, work with stakeholders, getting feedback on last fire season, as well as going around, along with MACA, to look at communities getting fire smarted, getting ready with their emergency measures plans.

We’ve learned from last year. We’re going to be bringing our emergency firefighters on stream sooner, and we’re going to be standing ready, especially in light of the indicators that we’re now getting in regards to snowpack and those types of things, which look to be below normal at a...

I can, Mr. Speaker, and I’d be happy to make sure the Member gets it as soon as I get that update for him. Thank you.

We have a number of documents that are currently available in terms of the energy planning. The Power System Plan for the Power Corporation and, as well, the final formal response to the Energy Charrette, which was in fact the most recent way that people could get involved, citizens could get involved in providing feedback and advice, to which they did in a very quality way that we’re going to look at responding to.

A lot of what we’re going to do is then going to be predicated on the final outcome of our borrowing limit, which will dictate how much we’re prepared to invest in the critical area...

As we discussed in this House previously, one of the areas that we are carefully considering as a government is the request from the Town of Hay River in regard to their franchise agreement to see if we would consider putting a bid in on that. That would have a direct impact on potential structure, distribution structure. We’ve already committed publicly that once our borrowing limit is set, we would be prepared to invest money, significant money into the generation side once again here in Yellowknife.

For example, in Inuvik you could put in, an example would be some of that wind power that’s...

If this House represented by the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning writes to us as a government, to me as the Minister of Finance saying that it is the will of this Legislature that we look at adjusting the prices of alcohol to be more favourable to the producers of the alcohol, then of course we will look at engaging in that discussion. But I would point out it will not just be focused on the business opportunity that may be provided by providing some kind of tax incentive to a micro-brewery, that I would suggest that it would become a much more fundamental policy discussion.

The direction that has been chosen by the government consistently over the many Assemblies that I’ve been here and prior is to see the need to try to control the abuse of alcohol. One of the ways we’ve chosen to do that is to put a tax on it that would be a disincentive to use, in addition to all the education and all the programs we have trying to work with communities for healthy babies and smart choices and active living.

So, we have two issues. The Member wants us to have a very modest tax regime to encourage the production of alcohol, and I’m saying I think we have a broader societal...