Louis Sebert

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There are an awful lot of opinions out there as to how we should proceed. I know that when our officials went out, and I'm looking at the report on what we heard, there were quite a few different suggestions about how to proceed. I do see, at page 20 of the report, there seemed to be, when asked the question, "Do you favour sales controlled by a GNWT agency or a more open system," there was a slight majority in favour of a GNWT agency, such as the Liquor Commission, but when we got to other questions, such as retail model suggestions, there were many, many different...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In November of 2016, the department engaged committee with our intent and duty, in fact, to consult Indigenous governments with respect to proposed fee changes. The consultation included changes to fees for lease rent minimums, among others.

In November, following up on that commitment, consultation letters were sent out to IGOs. Now, I have the letter in front of me, which I would be very happy to share with the Member opposite, and can see that it dealt with a large number of fee changes, including the lease fees. This letter went out to a large number of Aboriginal...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Like much of our legislation, what we have before us is a compromise worked out with Members in this Chamber.

It is quite right that we were put under pressure by the federal government when they announced that they were going to move ahead on their promise made during the election to change the criminalization of cannabis. It was an election promise, but I think we were a little surprised when it came forward as early as it did.

This did put pressures on this jurisdiction, and in fact, all jurisdictions, to respond and bring forth legislation that dealt with the areas...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here today to talk to you about Bill 6, Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Implementation Act.

I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development and the Standing Committee on Government Operations for their review of this bill and for the constructive feedback they have provided. A number of motions were made in committee, and I am pleased that the bill has improved as a result.

The development of Bill 6 required significant interdepartmental collaboration and has benefited from feedback from the public, Indigenous governments...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand the legitimate concerns that have led to the bringing forth of this motion. There are concerns about heavy use of cannabis in this age group, I think that harm can best be reduced by public education. No other jurisdiction has set an age limit above 19. Ours is, of course, 19. Generally, jurisdictions have based their age on the same age as liquor. I also don't think that this would be particularly effective. This two-tiered system would be rather complicated, unique in Canada, as I said, and the harm we wish to reduce, I think, can be best accomplished...

I certainly would be pleased to provide the Member opposite with an overview of the work we have done to this point. Hopefully, I can also provide some timelines. I think it is a very appropriate question. Thank you.

Reasonably agreeable approach, I will say, to the issue of designating vendors. Bill 6, as originally proposed, did allow for the designation of a range of vendors. It supported our plan for retail to initially occur through the Liquor Commission and the existing wellregulated liquor store regime, but there was no barrier to the designation of other vendors in the future, once the shape of the market became more evident, and there was an opportunity to provide, properly provide, for matters relating to security, health and safety, and determining community support. This motion does that. It...

We are currently looking at the possibility of transitioning the SMCC in Hay River to a therapeutic community model. We are spending time on this. Certainly, as I said before, we were all impressed when we went to Guthrie House. I think we should move ahead with our review to ascertain whether we can replicate that model in the Northwest Territories, because clearly, we have to start doing business in a different way.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a number of concerns about the proposed motion, and, if it fails, there may be an opportunity to accomplish its objectives without the negatives associated with the particular language. We do understand the motivation to see other private retail options to be open sooner rather than later. I think we need to be very careful not to suggest that there's a huge market waiting to be captured with lucrative returns to be had. The prices must be set in a way that can displace the illegal market.

Everyone should appreciate that it is going to be a challenging operating...

I doubt whether the parties involved in those cases regard them as frivolous, but the rental office does offer public education materials. When appropriate, landlords and tenants are encouraged to resolve matters outside the formal application process. However, it has to be said that not all individuals are prepared to be flexible. Many want their day in court. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.