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7TuesdayMay72013CitydismissesWildcatCafcontractorcitesprojectdelaysByJACKDANYLCHUKCitingdelaysinrestora-tionworkthathavekeptthehistoricWildcatCafclosedfortwoyearsYellowknifecityadministratorshavedis-missedthecontractor.GrantWhitedirectorofcommunityservicesrefusedtodiscussreasonsforthemovebutcouncillorCoryVanthuynesaidinanemailthatthecityterminatedthecontractasaresultofnumer-ousdelays.Administrationhasin-dicatedtocouncilthatthecitycouldntaffordortoler-ateanymoredelaysVan-thuynesaid.Theremainingworkwillbecompletedbycitystaffwithinthebudget.ThemovewasmadeApr.25adaybeforecontractorRickMuyersreturnedfromavacationinGuatemala.ItsnotinmyinteresttosayanythingatthistimeMuy-erstoldtheNorthernJournal.Restorationofthehistoriclogbuildingbeganin2011andwasdelayedforamonthbyunanticipatedworkonthefoundationandagainlastyearbyproblemswithastovehood.Theunexpectedcostspushedtheprojectbudgetfrom496000to525000butitsnotcleariftheworkbycitycrewshasbeenfac-toredintothetotal.Workremainingincludessandingandsealingwoodoorsandinstallingthestove.TheWildcatisaprimesummertouristdrawinYel-lowknifeshistoricOldTownandamodestincomesourceforthecity4500amonthinrentandninepercentofrevenue.Whitesaiditwouldopenintimefortheseasonbutwouldnotgiveanopeningdate.TraditionallythecafopensontheMaylongweek-endwhenpipedwaterser-viceisturnedonandclosesinSeptember.ContractorRickMuyerscentrewastakenoffthecitysrestorationprojectfortheWildcatCafduetoprojectdelays.Theremainingworkwillbedonebycitystaff.PoliticsMunicipalPhotoJackDanylchukEnvironmentalistspushforcarbontaxinNWTEnvironmentClimateChangeByMEAGANWOHLBERGNorthernenvironmentalgroupEcologyNorthhaslaunchedacampaigntopushtheterritorialgovernmentto-wardcreatingaClimateandEnergyActionFundbyplacinga3.50pertonnecarbonlevyongreenhousegasemissionsintheNWT.Thepetitionwhichhasbeencirculatingthroughouttheter-ritoryfortwoweekscallsfortheestablishmentofathree-yearinterimcarbonpricingsystemthatwouldseebothindustryandconsumershelpoffsetsomeofthelong-termcostsofclimatechangesimilartowhatisbeingdoneinQuebecBCandAlberta.RatherthangoingdirectlyintogeneralrevenuesEcologyNorthhopesthemoneyraisedoverthattimewouldgotocli-matechangeadaptationandmitigationprogramsthrough-outtheNWT.Climatechangeisnotaproblemitsthesocialandeconomicproblemofthe21stcenturysowehavetoreactac-cordinglyanddowhatwecaninoureconomyDougRitchieofEcologyNorthtoldasmallnumberofinterestedpeopleinFortSmithTuesdaynightduringapresentationonthegroupscampaign.Andwhatwereproposingisnowhereenoughbutitsastart.Whatwewanttogetestablishedarethebasicprinciplesofcarbonpricingandthepolluterpaysprinciple.Thegroupestimatesthatabout2-3millionwouldberaisedannuallyforthefundwhichcouldbeinvestedinhelpingmiddleandlow-in-comehouseholdsmaketheirhomesmoreenergyefcientwithapriorityputonresi-dentsandbusinessesinremotecommunities.Ritchiesaidcarbontaxesessentiallycomedowntoac-countingforthetruecostofgoodsandservicestypicallyleftoutoftheirmarketvaluewhichincludestheimpactsofproductionaswellastosomedegreethespilloveroftheuseofthosegoodsandservicesontheenvironment.Whateconomistssayisthatreallytogetthetruecosthereofthegoodintermsoftheoverallimpactonsocietyyoureallyhavetoconsiderwaterpollutionairqualitydegrada-tionandalsomorerecentlyclimatechangeemissionshesaid.Sowereallyhavetorejigoureconomyandeconomistssayyoubasicallyhavetostartputtingapriceonpollution.ComparedtoothercarbonpricingsystemsthesimplelevyproposedbyEcologyNorthwillbeeasytoadministerandtransparentRitchiesaid.Andbecauseittargetsboththemajorpolluters-likeenergycompa-niesandresourceextractionprojects-andindividualstheburdenofthetaxissharedacrosstheboard.Itdoesntmakejudgementswhetheratonneofgreenhousegasemissionswhenyoupro-duceitattheindustriallevelisbetterorworsethanifyouproduceatonneofgreenhousegasesbyconsumershesaid.Unfortunatelyoneofthedrawbacksofacarbontaxisthatitcanhitlow-incomepeopleharderthanwealthieronesintermsofthepercentageofin-comeitclaimsbutRitchiesaidtheproposedlevyintheNWTwilllikelynotnegativelyimpactthoseinthebottombracket.TheamountisverylowhetoldTheJournal.Manylow-incomefamiliesareinpublichousingandasaresultwouldlargelybeprotectedfrompo-tentialfuelincreasesandtheimpactonelectricitypricesislikelysmallifnon-existentbecausethelevypercentage-wisewouldbelessthanwhattheNTPCNTPowerCorp.isalreadyexpectingintermsofincreasingfuelprices.ThatsaidRitchieaddedthatEcologyNorthwouldnotbeopposedtooffsettingtheim-pactofthelevyonlow-incomeseniorsthroughincreasingtheexistingfuelsubsidyprogram.Theoverallcostofdoingthiswouldbeverysmall-prob-ablyinthetensofthousandsofdollarshesaid.Similarlyhomeownersinremotecommunitieswhilenotdirectlyshelteredfromthelevywouldlikelyreceiveahigherlevelofsubsidythansomeonefurthersouthorinalargercentre.Whiletheproposalhasyettoreceiverealbuy-inbythema-jorityofMLAsRitchiesaidhehopesthepetitionhelpsmovethecauseforward.Weregoingtokeepatitbecausewefeelthisisaghtworthghtinghesaid.Ifwereseriouslyconcernedaboutthecostoflivingwebetterre-duceouroverallconsumptionoffossilfuelsandwebetterdoitquick.FortSmithresidentAlexHallsignsapetitioncallingforacarbontaxintheNorthwestTerritorieslastweek.PhotoMeaganWohlberg