.. ... .. \ Qrbr ~ukon JL cgislatibr ~ s s cm bl p Number 30 9th Session 23rd Legislature Debates & Proceedings Monday, February 27, 1978 . Speaker: The Honourable Donald Taylor u u 0 o·. 0 0 Published under the authority of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly by the Quee n's Printer for Yukon. 0 0 Page 731 Whitehorse. Yukon Territory Mr. Speaker: Are there any further Notices of Motion or February 27. 1978 Resolution? Are there any Statements by Ministers? ThE Honourable Minister of Highways and Publi c Works? Mr. Speaker : I now call the !louse to order. We will proceed at this lime with Morning Prayers. STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS Prayers Hon. Mr. McKinnon: Mr. Speaker. I would like to inforrr. the House that the City of Whitehorse Assessment Notices fo r Mr. Spe~ker: We will proceed at this time to the Order the 1978 taxation year were mailed on Friday. February 24th . Paper. Are there any Documents for Tabling'? The Honoura­ and that the people of Wh itehorse will be receiving them over ble Member from Hootalinqua. the next few days. Mr. Speaker. property last assessed at 1969 fai r market ROUTI NE PROCEEDINGS value has now been assessed as per the Ordinance and the law at 1976 fair market value. Understandably, Mr . Speaker. as TABLI NG OF DOCUMENTS we all know, this new assessment will reflect a dramati c in­ crease in the assessed value of property within the City of Mr. Fleming: Yes. Mr. Speaker. I ha,·e for tabling this Whitehorse. morning. a brief. entitled "Han·esting of Grizzly Bear. Dall Sheep and Goat in the Yukon Territory". by the Yukon Outfit­ It is important to note. Mr. Speaker. that this value was ters Association. January. 1978. placed on all properties in Whitehorse before the end of 1976. Before the recent specu lative upsurge sparked by pipeline Mr. Speaker: The Honourable Member from Ogilvie. planning, particularly on commercial and industrial prop­ Ms Millard : Mr. Speaker. I have for tabling papers deal­ erty. ing with the new Federal policy of National Wilderness Parks. The Assessment Rolls in Whitehorse were old. inaccurate Mr. Speaker: Are there any further Documents for Tabl­ and contained values grossly out of date and a new assessment ing? was necessary because the value of property throughout the Reports of Committees·] Petitions? Introduction of Bills? Yukon must be assessed on a realistic. equitable basis. re­ Notices of Motion for the Production of Papers'? moved from any political influence at either the muni cipal or the territorial level. The Honourable Member from Kluane. The political role then. Mr. Speaker. is to strike a fair mill rate on an equitable and uniform assessment base. Mr. NOTI CES OF MOTION Speaker. it is not this government's intention, nor is it their Mrs. Watson: Yes. Mr. Speaker, I would give Notice of policy , to use the new assessment rates in Whitehorse as a Motion. seconded by the Honourable Member from Ogilvie, windfall bonanza to the Territorial Treasury in the form of that th e Government table its organizational chart. defining: increased property taxes for educational pu rposes. 1. the various departments and branches: Whitehorse ratepayers, presently, Mr. Speaker. contribute 2. the director or deputy head of each department and branch, none of the capital costs and about 20 per cent towards the and operation and maintenance costs of Whitehorse schools. How­ ever, th is government feels at this time it would not be accept­ 3. th e departmental responsibility of each member of the Ex­ able to raise the level of that contribution. ecu.i;;e Committee. In examining the effects of the Whitehorse assessment Mr. Speaker : Are there any further Notices or Motion 1or changes. we found that while the property tax revenue needs the Production of Papers? The Honourable Mt>mber from of the City of Whitehorse, as indicated in their provisional Ogilvie. budget, would produce a lower mill rate because of the higher Ms Millard : Mr. Speaker, Notice of Motion for the Produc­ assessment. Our fixed mill rate fo r school taxes. based on 16 tion of Papers: moved by myself, seconded by the Honourable mills, would produce a revenue increase of 55 per cent over Member from Kluane, that the Science Council of Canada 1977 revenue. Report Number 26 , ot August, 1977, "Northward Looking-A Strategy and a Science Policy for Northern Development'', be This is an amount that might subject thi s Government to tabled in the House. charges that we were stimulating inflation. Mr. Speaker: The Honourable Member from Kluane. Therefore, we gave immediate consideration to a revision ot the school tax levy system, using fixed mill rates. Mrs. Watson : Yes, Mr. Speaker, I would give Notice of Motion, seconded by the Honourable Member from Hootalin­ It was also evident, Mr. Speaker, from the prov isional qua, that the Government of Yukon table the selection process budgets submitted by Yukon municipalities. that they were and land selection criteria adopted by the Planning Council of facing the necessity of obtaining property tax increases to the Yukon Indian Claim, for the selection of Yukons land by enable them to continue providing existing levels of services the Yukon Indian Claim Beneficiaries. du ring this period of high cost and inflation. Mr. Speaker: Are there any further Notices of Motion for We are likewise facing sharply increasing costs for opera­ the Production of Papers? tion and maintenance of existing services and faci lities and a number of expanded or new services are being prov ided in Are there any Notices of Motion or Resolution? The Honour­ several communities. Our proposed solution to these prob­ able Member from Hootalinqua. lems involves reducing the school tax n'rill rate and introduc­ ing additional measures specifically designed to assist resi­ NOTICES OF MOTION dential taxpayers. u Mr. Fleming: Yes, Mr . Speaker, I give Notice of Motion We will be proposing, for the House approval, at the Budget this morning, seconded by the Honourable Member from Session, the following changes in mi ll rates and homeowner Kluane, that th e Yukon Outfitters brief, 1978, pertaining to thE grants: "Harvesting of Grizzly Bear, Dall Sheep, and Goat", be 1. 1978 tax mill rates are recommended to change as follows: moved into Committee of the Whole for discussion. _ school taxes - 10 mills, a drop of six mills on all property Page 732 taxable for tins purpo "~ ter ritorial g(•neral mill rate - 28 Mr. Speaker. the Territorial assessor will be holding open mills. Two changes combined will leave the Territorial tax­ house between March 15th and the 21st. at th e YWCA building 0 payers with the sanw mill rate combined as in 1977, no in­ in Whitehorse, to answer any questions concerning individual cren~e in tl11 mill rat(· thrott ghout the Yukon. assessment which property owners wish to ask of them. 2. The Homeotmers' Grant Ordinance be amended to provide It is ou r hope. Mr. Speaker. that these consul tations will help that the grant ~··<~ II be the lessor of the sum of $300 or one-half to reduce the number of assessment appeals to be dealt with of the tax• I · I in respect of the eligible resident, or, where by the Court of Revision. the taxes are le s~ than $200. the difference between the taxable Finally. Mr. Speaker. I feel that our assessors have done a taxes payable and $100. commendable job in bringing a hopelessly out-moded and Thts means. Mr. Speaker, an increase in the maximum out-dated assessment roll up to standard in the City of ( ·. from $250 to $300 in the Homeowners' Grants. Whitehorse. It is now our responsibility to make sure that a 3. There is r enhaPred payment to senior ci tizens, to those mill rate is struck to reflect that new assessment roll equita­ qualified applicants who provide e\ tdence of being in receipt bly and with a minimum of hardship to Yukon taxpayers. We of a benefi t under the O!d Age Security Act. The amount of the feel, Mr. Speaker. that the proposals outlined today will fu lfill grant shall be tlw lessor of that obligation. a l the sum of $300. or Mr. Speaker: Are there any further Statements by Mini s­ ters? b l 75 per cent of the taxes lc\ icd in respect of the eligible residents m the year of application. This then brings us to th e Question Period. Have you any questions? The Honourable Member from Klondike. The $100 tax minimum will not apply in such cases. This means homeo~ncrs 65 and o\'er wil bt eligible for grants up to 75 per cent. instead of 50 per cent of their taxes on their resi­ QUESTION PERIOD dences up to $300 with the minimum tax not taken into consid­ Question r e: Taxation eration no floor o J· ·' ~ nnt Mr Speaker. Mr. Berger: Yes, Mr. Speaker, referring to the speech of. We believe, Mr. Speaker, that the changes proposed are a the statement of the Minister of Local Government just made. responsible method of ensuring that the majority of I mean, he's referring to, often, to Yukon taxpayers. How \\'h tehor L :owners ,, 1.1 not be facing ma jor property tax much is this statement going to affect taxpayers in Dawson increases and tax revenues required for school purposes will City and Faro? I mean, they are outside the taxation structure be equitably distr ibuted. of the Territorial Government. The fo ll ow i n~:, resolution wi ll be proposed for your approval Mr. Speaker: The Honourable Minister of Highways and as required by the Taxation Ordinance: THAT the Commis­ Public Works.