Kevin O'Reilly

I'd like to thank the Minister for his answer and his response. Thank you. Did the Department of Education, Culture and Employment undertake any work to produce the universal childcare implementation plan called for in the 2016-2019 mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, yes or no?

Thanks to the Minister for that. Earlier in my opening comments I expressed some concern about whether we were delaying various projects to come up with the capital for the large infrastructure project that is in the budget. I still remain concerned about that. I do want to thank the Minister, though, for moving forward. The JK capital implementation costs, I think that was a good move. I have similar sentiments from my colleague here from Nahendeh, so I want to thank the Minister for doing that because it saved me from having to deliver a barn burner of a speech. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Thanks to the Minister for that. Glad to hear some research is being done. Perhaps that can be rolled into the "what we heard" report. Is there some sort of discussion paper that might accompany it so we can have an informed discussion or debate around that? Lastly, it is my understanding that the initial federal legalization will not deal with edible products or oils. What process will our government use for the regulation of these cannabis products? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am not feeling really comfortable about where we are getting with this, and I know I have had constituents raising questions with me as well about how much this project is actually going to cost us. Maybe we could get a briefing or something from the Minister where he can more freely share information with us. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Minister, for that. It sounds like the engagement was well received, and I look forward to getting the compilation of it. I complimented the Minister earlier for the meeting that I attended here in Yellowknife.

Not unlike liquor distribution and sales, our response to cannabis legalization has to take into account that most communities are too small for their own sales outlets. It is likely that some legal arrangement for shipping of products will be needed, and there may be a desire for additional restrictions by local governments. How does the Minister plan to address these...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. That is helpful information to have, but surely to goodness we must have some sense of what the ongoing costs are going to be for O and M for this project and what it is going to cost taxpayers of the Northwest Territories. What is that estimate? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I attended the Department of Justice's public engagement meeting in Yellowknife on September 14th on the legalization of cannabis. First of all, I want to say it was one of the better GNWT consultation meetings I have ever attended. Thanks to the Minister. Publicity produced a good turnout; it was well organized and facilitated. The discussion was respectful and informative, with good opportunities to provide informed input and have it recorded for consideration. I won't try to summarize the input, but I will comment on what I heard and see as some of the key...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. What we know now, though, the members of these groups, none of them are Tlicho companies. Can I confirm that with the Minister? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. The three names that I have seen here, if I can find them again, are Aurora Access Partners, NAE Transportation Partners, North Star Infrastructure. The Minister is telling me that there are Tlicho companies or joint ventures of some sort that are in these three groupings? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Glad we were able to clear that up. I just want to go on to the Tlicho road. The allocation is $67 million. It is the largest single item in our budget, the capital budget. It really dwarfs almost everything else. I just have some questions about it. Can the Minister tell me, at a fairly high level, what is the $67 million actually going to do? Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can I get some assurance that it is actually going to get spent this year? Because I think this project is still in an environmental assessment. There have been no contracts signed. Is the money actually going...