Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents entitled "Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2017-2018," "Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2017-2018," "Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2018-2019," and "Interim Public Accounts of the Government of the Northwest Territories for the Year Ended March 31, 2017." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will not commit to actually putting that $750,000 into other programs. I did say that, through the programs we offer within the government to support small business, that $750,000 that we would save by not implementing the tax would definitely help to fund some of that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have two years left in this mandate. It was not a promise that I made, so it is not going to be a broken promise. I understand that it was part of the mandate, but again, the mandate was for four years, not two.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Inter-Activity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 (April 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017)" and "Northwest Territories Surface Rights Board 2016-2017 Annual Report." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we thought that the existing liquor regulations had enough leeway to allow for the sale of beer by the NWT Brewing Company directly to licensees. The board, as an independent quasi-judicial body, did not agree with that interpretation of the regulations and would not allow direct sales. To be fair, Mr. Speaker, the board can only make decisions using the existing legislation and regulations. If they are out of date and no longer relevant, it falls on us to change them. I have directed the department to draft regulations that allow for the sale of NWT...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have asked the official of the department to review the existing board processes and policies of the NWT Liquor Act regulations. In addition, the department will be reaching out to stakeholders as to how to modernize the board enforcement and decision-making processes to ensure they are transparent and fair. We plan on having the work completed for review by the next fiscal year. We do, however, plan on implementing the changes that we can make in the interim. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I expect the regulation will be in place by the end of October, and the NWT Brewing Company will be able to begin deliveries if I am in a position to sign the regulation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, the plan is that the review should somewhat modernize the sale and licensing of alcohol in the NWT and provide the NWT Liquor Licensing Board with the necessary tools to do their jobs in a fair and transparent manner, as well as addressing concerns raised by licensees.

Again, to the Member's first point about the use of personal cabins, a lot of it is common sense. Some people will leave their cabins open, allowing other people to use them in case of emergency, and they have to respect that person's cabin. It is a practice that has been going on for a long time, but again, it is common sense that people need to respect the personal property of others.

To the Member's second point, the renewable resource officers have no authority to enforce alcoholrelated infractions, but because they are peace officers, they can report the infraction to the RCMP. However...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Wildlife officers are on regular duty from Monday to Friday 8:30 to 5 o’clock. During busy hunting season, schedule can be adjusted to provide additional coverage when and where needed. Also, we can bring in additional resource officers from other communities or regions if there is a need in a particular area. There are renewable resource officers on call 24 hours a day in each region, with the contact information posted on the GNWT website hunting guide. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.