Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. What assurances can the Minister give to people who are concerned about the old SDLs, the SDLs that weren't really working as well as intended? That was the feedback that we received. What assurances can the Minister give that those existing SDLs will be either brought into the regime that we will be bringing forward with the new legislation or, at least, will become competitive and not just sit there for an indeterminate amount of time, which could be until the end of time? What assurances can the Minister give that there will be work done and that these SDLs will...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the chair rise and report progress. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 22-18(3): Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Annual Reports of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories be received by the Assembly. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 100(4) and have Committee Report 22-18(3) moved to Committee of the Whole for further consideration today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. My understanding is, just in one case of another provincial jurisdiction doing this, in British Columbia, when a land transfer tax or fee was implemented in the 1970s, the explicit policy rationale was for income redistribution. Large home purchases would bring about revenue that could be invested in social programs and policies. I guess the contention I have here is this is a fee that is going to disproportionately affect ratepayers in one part of the territory and largely ignore the state of play in other parts of the territory.

I am not opposed to new taxes as long as they are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 21-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 Annual Reports of the Office of the Languages Commissioner for the Northwest Territories, be received by the Assembly, and Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive rule 100(4) and have Committee Report 21-18(3) moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Was there any consideration to using these fees as a cost recovery mechanism and keeping them fixed at a rate that is commensurate to the government's costs on administering land title transfers and the other business of land titles, rather than just increasing the fees? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 20-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2017-2018 Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Report, be received by the Assembly, and Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive rule 100(4) and have Committee Report 20-18(3) moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Following through that logic, then, the majority of the revenues that are raised by this fee increase are going to be paid in majority by Yellowknife land transfers. Is that also correct? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the 2017-2018 Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Report and commends it to the House. The Standing Committee on Government Operations completed its review of the 2017-2018 Annual Report of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission.

The standing committee would like to thank Mr. Charles Dent, chair of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission; Ms. Deborah McLeod, director of Human Rights; and Mr. Sheldon Toner, chair of the Adjudication...

Thank you. For the benefit of people trying to understand these kind of collections of rate adjustments, when do these fees kick in? Is it when people buy and sell property? Thank you.