Louis Sebert

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my right is Mark Aitken, assistant deputy minister, Attorney General branch of Justice. To his right is Mike Reddy, director, Legislation Division, Justice, and to my left is Sandy Kalgutkar, deputy secretary to the Financial Management Board, Finance. Thank you.

I would just like to make some final comments, if I may. First of all, I would like to thank the very patient staff who have sat with me today. They have been very helpful in getting us to where we are now. There were some notes passed to me, but a little hard to read because they were from a lawyer.

I know this has been a very contentious issue, and a very difficult issue for the many reasons that have been set out, but I think this really does show how consensus government can work. I know that a tremendous amount of work was done by the committee in a very short period of time, those who...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 20, Ombudsperson Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will defer to the Member opposite. I will speak to it, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Bill 6, as it is currently drafted, provides for a secure retail regime that is ready to roll out across the territory on legalization day. If this motion was to be passed, most of the present liquor stores would have a struggle getting ready in time to begin operations when legalization occurs.

There would be engineering requirements, building permits, fire and building-code considerations, and a lot of money directed toward renovations, all during the very busy summer construction season. It certainly brings...

I don't think I can provide a timeline and a definitive answer at this time, but we will check with the department and get back to the Member opposite.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to support this motion as brought forward today. We are very grateful that our discussions with members of the joint standing committee following their thorough review of the bill have allowed us to arrive at a mutually agreeable approach. I didn't say "unanimously agreeable," reasonable.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think those of us who did have the opportunity to go to see the program as it was working in British Columbia were very impressed with the program. Clearly, should we go ahead with this; it would represent a significant change in the way in which we are doing business.

To fully incorporate such a therapeutic model at SMCC, a staffing base would be required to further support the offenders' recovery and growth. They currently have the staffing and resources required to support this model, that is very good news, including management as well as unit case management and...

I am not aware of the situation when the federal government was in control of those lands referred to by the Member opposite, and I am not certain when a decision was made, if, in fact, there was a change, to tax those lands by the territorial government. I could consult with my confreres in Finance and MACA to determine that, but I wasn't aware of the tax situation prior to devolution.

As I mentioned previously, there had been, in questions asked by the Member opposite last week, considerable discussion about this issue and including, I believe, a story in the press. Each leaseholder was advised in writing by the department of the changes to lease fees, so they were advised on an individual basis. Now, the fees will be determined by the nature of your lease, so, if there is a lease for a period ending, let's say, in the year 2020 at the current rate before April 1st, that will still be in effect until the year 2020, so the increase in rates will not occur until that time.

Now...

As mentioned previously, there had not been an increase in a considerable amount of time. Listening carefully to the concerns that had been raised in this House, we did implement a reduction of residential lease fees to 5 per cent of assessed value, down from 10 per cent, so we felt that that was assisting those residents, most of whom would be living in their own houses on those properties, so that was an actual reduction in fees.