MLA's bill to pause N.W.T. fuel tax passes 2nd reading, fails to get fast-tracked

The member for Range Lake has a bill demanding his government to suspend its fuel taxes for a year. He argues that'll help improve the cost of living in the Northwest Territories. But after failing to get it fast-tracked yesterday in the Legislative Assembly, he argues the territory won't meet the moment. Yesterday, all regular MLAs voted to advance his bill to a committee stage. But Kieran Testart wanted to skip that step. I do think we need to move faster than a committee study, though. And, you know, I'll be taking action to try to do that, Mr. Speaker. But we need to move quickly. We cannot wait 120 days or certainly into the next assembly to decide our tax policy. When this is the winter that matters, this is the winter people are feeling the pain, and this is when we need to help them now. That kind of move requires unanimous consent, but Testart didn't get it. And there's no formal record identifying who shot down his request. Thank you, member from Range Lake. Is there any nays? The bill now heads to committee which has up to four months to report back and it would still need further approval before becoming law and there's another obstacle. Suspending the tax would cost the territory an estimated 15 million dollars in lost revenue and some members question whether the savings justify that cost. So this bill proposes for about a year of relief, if I'm not mistaken, and that back of the napkin math for me comes to about $350 a year. It's not nothing, but it's not much. Finance Minister Caroline Wozniak is also raising concerns. In a statement today, she says the government needs to know who would benefit, how much savings would reach residents and businesses, and what the broader financial consequences would be. She says the government won't rush ahead without those answers. Home heating fuel is already exempt from the territorial fuel taxes, so the proposal wouldn't directly lower heating bills. Last month, MLAs also called for more support to help residents with high fuel costs. It gave the government four months to respond to that as well. And as for Testart's bill, it's still moving forward, but whether residents will see any relief this winter remains uncertain. Devon Trudinik, CBC News, Yellowknife.