Louis Sebert

Yes. I suppose I can ask. I mean, one of the points of the legalization was to remove this from the black market. We will know what sales are in the Northwest Territories, and I would like to think that is money that is taken out of the hands of criminals. That was one of the major points of the legislation.

As I said, this was long in coming. I mean, if you are asking me how much the market for marijuana has been diminished by the change of law, that is rather hard to determine because it was a black market before. I would hope that the fact that now it is being sold legally in some of the...

I don't think we are in a position, really, to examine such an idea in that kind of detail. I do know that setting up a new RCMP station would be extremely expensive, but certainly I would be prepared to have a conversation with the Member opposite about this matter. I have some idea about the overall cost of setting up a new RCMP detachment, and it is very high. We would have to decide if there was a need, first of all, before we examined it further.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I think that we could do some preliminary investigation about this with respect to costs and get back to committee. I am willing to do that. Thank you.

Yes, clearly, information is important because a lot of these disputes might be able to be resolved informally rather than going through the rental office. Certainly we do recognize that education is important. Thank you.

I am not sure I entirely understand the question. There is an amount set out there for offender reintegration. If that is the number that is being referred to, the $179,000, that number has been the same. Perhaps I should let Ms. Bolstad answer this question, rather than getting information second-hand and perhaps getting it wrong. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We don't have that information before us, and I am not aware of any charges or convictions since October 17th. There may be some. Certainly we could track that kind of information. As I said, the whole point of the change was to remove this product from organized crime, but I do appreciate that there will still be those who break the law and presumably will be prosecuted, even if the drug that they are selling is marijuana or cannabis. There are still laws that presumably will be effective and used against those that are selling illegally. Thank you.

This government, all governments, are faced by an insatiable demand for new and better programs. I mean, the money has to come from somewhere. The original land transfer tax we talked about was something that was far greater than this. This generally is a tax that will fall on those who can afford it. Let's be honest with it. These are home buyers. $350, really, I don't consider that a particularly outrageous or unfair increase. Rates have not been changed in 20 years. As I say, a bigger impediment, if there is such a thing, to buying a house might be increasing mortgage rates. I mean, we are...

Thank you. We do meet with lawyers in the defence bar. I certainly do quite often. I was one until a few years ago, though the system was rolled out after I had taken on new responsibilities. I haven't heard, from the defence lawyers, complaints about this system, and they are not shy. I think they would come to me if they did have concerns. All I can say is that I haven't heard any specific concerns about this system. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. We are going to try to get this done as soon as possible. I do realize how important it is, and it would be good if we could get it done during the life of this Assembly. We will try. I think I can leave it at that, and I do acknowledge that this should have moved ahead more quickly than it has. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Certainly, the new facility is much larger than the old one, but it also contains a large space for programming, which is, of course, a necessary component in a modern correctional complex. Thank you, Mr. Chair.