Julie Green

Mr. Speaker, it is often said that social services is the poor cousin in this department, and I am sorry to say that the treatment of the Office of the Public Guardian reflects that. It is also true from a legislative point of view the Guardianship and Trustee Act is 20 years old. It is out of date with respect to what the best practice is in this field now in Canada. Can the Minister tell us what his plan is to update this legislation? Thank you.

I take from the executive summary I read from this report that the business of doing audits has some urgency related to it, so I would like to hear from the Minister when he thinks this audit plan will be in place and operationalized.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for that answer. The Minister mentioned that there was an application to the federal government for $2 million over five years. Is there any additional money being budgeted for public education in the next fiscal year, or is everything dependent on Canada saying yes to this proposal? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I asked because this is within the fiscal year that we are currently reviewing, and it has been the desire of the Standing Committee on Social Development to address the smoking rates of young people and people who live in small communities, and that's why I'm interested to know whether this program is providing an effective intervention, in general. In those cases, in particular, I understand the Minister is committed to providing that information, so I have no further questions on this issue. Thank you.

I thank the Minister for that response. Has the Minister considered using materials from other sources such as the one I referenced from Drug Free Kids Canada?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my question is about page 201. I see that the GNWT has an agreement with Health Canada to fund the Toll-Free Tobacco Quit Line. Can the Minister tell us a little bit about usage rates here? Is this a useful way of helping people who are trying to stop smoking? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge my constituent Arnold Enge and thank him for all the work he does on behalf of the North Slave Metis. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I will make this my last question. Given the timing of where we are vis-a-vis the 2019 election, does the Minister anticipate completing this work through to public engagement and identifying solutions prior to the next election? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the legalization of cannabis is now just a few months away. The question is: are we ready? My fear is that we will not be, and it is young people who are most at risk. There was a high degree of interest on the public engagement on cannabis legalization last summer and fall, with one in 10 households responding to the GNWT's online survey. There was near-unanimous support for government spending on public awareness and education focused on youth that would provide evidence-based education on the risks related to cannabis use.

Mr. Speaker, those who responded to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, a number of years ago, the Health Minister of the day attempted to change the supplementary health benefit program without very much success. How will the Minister do differently than was done at that time? Thank you.