QUESTION 63-17(3):
ENFORCEMENT OF
RENTAL OFFICER’S ORDERS
MS. BISARO: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Minister for Justice. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement.
I’d like to thank the Minister for his responses to my colleague Mr. Hawkins, and he’s addressed a few of my concerns, but the Minister mentioned that there is an issue. He also mentioned that he’s trying to improve service. For me, the issue is of costs to the individuals. When an individual who has an order and the order is not being enforced, they must go to court. I’d like to know from the Minister, in terms of costs, I guess, does the Minister have any idea of the costs to individuals through the courts for rental officer decisions that have been ignored and have not been agreed to and followed up on. Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER: Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.
HON. GLEN ABERNETHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I don’t.
MS. BISARO: I’m not sure I want to thank the Minister, but I guess I’d like to ask the Minister whether or not he would be willing to provide that information. I think one of the things that we have to realize is that taking an issue to the Supreme Court is not cost effective for our residents. We have many, many people who are so totally intimidated about going to court that they wouldn’t even think of doing that and taking that action.
I appreciate that the Minister is going to look at the act, and I appreciate that we will get some kind of action. I’d like to ask the Minister when we might be able to get the information that he’s referencing. He may have given a time frame and maybe I missed it, but when can we look to see the results of the review that he says he’s going to do? Thank you.
HON. GLEN ABERNETHY: I have directed the department to have some results ready for discussion with committee and Members in the fall. Thank you.
MS. BISARO: I’d like to ask the Minister whether he has any information in another area. The rental officer, as he advised us and as most people are aware, can quite rightly assign fines for noncompliance of rental officer orders. It’s $2,000 for an individual. It can be $25,000 for a business. Can the Minister advise us how many rental officer orders have been ignored and how many fines have been assessed in 2010-2011 fiscal year? Thank you.
HON. GLEN ABERNETHY: I don’t, obviously, have that information with me today, but I will commit to getting that information from the department and providing it to the Member. Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Your final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
MS. BISARO: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have anything else that I can ask and get any answers for. Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER: Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
MR. BOUCHARD: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement about dredging, we are concerned about the sediment buildup in the Hay River area.
My first question to the Minister of Transportation is: Does the territorial government and the Department of Transportation have any dredging programs planned for the Hay River area this year?
MR. SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
HON. DAVID RAMSAY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the question. We don’t have responsibility for dredging. What we do look forward to doing this summer is organizing with NTCL, the Canadian Coast Guard, and I believe Midnight Petroleum is also involved in the little bit of work that is going to be conducted in Hay River this coming summer. But, certainly, the port of Hay River hasn’t had a full-fledged dredging program since 1994, and a lot of sediment and silt can certainly build up in that port over almost a 20-year period. It’s of great concern to the department. We continue to raise the issue with the federal government at every opportunity. Thank you.
MR. BOUCHARD: The Minister has indicated that industry is interested. I’m wondering if the Minister will commit to assessing the Hay River harbour and the full dredging needs in working with all the proponents, whether it’s industry or whether it’s the federal government, to build a needs assessment for the dredging in the Hay River area?
HON. DAVID RAMSAY: I think at some point this summer I would like to be in Hay River to have a look at the port of Hay River, to discuss with operators, fishermen, people who use that port on a daily basis the needs on the dredging side. Again, certainly, I think we have to come up with a business case and continue to impress upon the federal government the need to put some money into dredging the port of Hay River. It’s estimated it could be as high as about $12 million to $15 million to dredge the port of Hay River.
MR. BOUCHARD: Thank you. Back in December I asked some similar questions about dredging in Hay River and the federal government’s responsibility. The Minister indicated that he was going to begin negotiations and discussions with the federal government on this project. Can the Minister give me an update on has he had any meetings on this issue with the federal government?
HON. DAVID RAMSAY: Thank you. I haven’t had a meeting with my federal counterpart, Minister Lebel, in some time. I look forward to getting together with him again in the near future, and I believe the department has had discussions with Transport Canada on this issue and I’d be more than happy to go back to the department and get the level of connectivity they’ve had with Transport Canada on this issue for the Member. Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard. Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
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