Louis Sebert

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I also was impressed by my visit to Guthrie House when I was there in the latter part of last year. I understand we have developed a working group to look into the possibility of having a similar facility in the Northwest Territories. It is fairly preliminary, but I can say that, when the department went down, I think I can speak for the others who were with me, we were all impressed with Guthrie House and certainly would be considering such a model in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I am not aware of increments being paid on the basis of experience. I know that, certainly, the responsibilities of the justice of the peace move up as they take on more responsibilities.

I will get back to the Member on that, should he wish, but we think that the rates of pay might be set by regulation. I will look into that and get back to the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is important to remember that the federal government only introduced the legislation changing the law last April. This omnibus bill is a very ambitious piece of legislation touching on several departments; Health, Justice, Infrastructure, and Finance, among others. There has been a large-scale public engagement, and I believe, with committee's help and input, we can craft a made-in-the-North response to this change in the law, so I look forward to hearing from standing committee. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank two of our Pages this week, Jed Mitchell and Joel Rhymer from PWK School in Fort Smith, and recognize Clarence Rhymer, their chaperone who is in the gallery.

Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 6, Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Implementation Act, be read for the second time. This bill enacts two new statutes relating to the legalization and regulation of cannabis, the Cannabis Products Act, and the Cannabis Smoking Control Act. The bill also amends the Motor Vehicles Act to provide for prohibitions and enforcement measures related to persons who operate motor vehicles while their ability to do so is impaired by alcohol or drugs or by a combination of both, and to ensure consistency with the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Legalization of cannabis was, of course, announced by the federal government approximately one year ago, so we had a very limited time to meet the target date of July 2018. Staff visited nine communities; Fort Simpson, Fort Liard, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic, Norman Wells, Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Hay River, and Behchoko. We simply didn't have the opportunity or time to visit all 33 communities.

In addition to that, there was an online survey that was open to all residents. As I mentioned, public hearings were held in seven regional centres, including Inuvik, and two smaller...

As mentioned previously, the problem was that, although money was allocated for the project, the bids came in at very, very high amounts and we know we couldn't proceed with those very large bids. I will advise the Member opposite or the House as to the status on both of these projects. I am, again, hoping that the improvements to the building, the interior part, will be completed shortly. As I said, we went out for bids, I believe a couple of times, and the bids came in at much too high. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There were really two projects here. I understand the work on the fence. There's the outer fence that work has been done on, and I'll have to check on that. The improvements that were considered necessary after the escape that took place in 2016 have not yet been completed. I'm hoping to bring good news about that shortly.

Yes, of course, this government is committed to establish open government policy. In these circumstances, again, with the limited timelines that we had, we decided to visit a cross-section of the communities. With respect to Fort McPherson specifically I know that letters were sent to Indigenous and committee governments, including the Hamlet of Fort McPherson, the Tetl'it Gwich'in council band, and the NWT Association of Communities. In addition to that, there was a teleconference in which the people of Fort McPherson participated. Also, there was the NWTAC meeting a couple of weeks ago where...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 6, Cannabis Legalization and Regulations Implementation Act be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.