Rylund Johnson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm wondering if the Minister of Finance can commit that when the current Yellowknife liquor store licenses expire that she can commit that they will go out to public tender? I know it's been quite a few years since that process has occurred. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have got three pages for you today.

Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on Bill 67, An Act to Amend the Fire Prevention Act, and commends it to the House.

Bill 67: An Act to Amend the Fire Prevention Act received second reading on November. 3, 2022 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.

Bill 67 makes changes to the Fire Prevention (Act) that has not been comprehensively reviewed since it was first passed in 1988. Bill 67 is intended to improve regulatory functions of the...

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad to hear that. I know some people who have been interested in trying to get their hands on those contracts as they are quite generous and make quite a lot of money. And I'm wondering when those go out, would the Minister look at and seeing whether the market or the profitability of the license would justify a third liquor store in Yellowknife? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Yellowknife liquor stores aren't very nice, and I would like to make them a little nicer. Mr. Speaker, every once in a while I go down south and I go to buy some beer or wine and I remember that buying alcohol can actually be an enjoyable experience. Whether it be the customer service, the selection, or just making sure that the building is in good repair, I think Yellowknife liquor stores leave a lot to be desired. And, Mr. Speaker, at this point I think it's time that we go out and retender our two Yellowknife liquor stores. Liquor stores in Yellowknife are...

We've got 10 pages today, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its report on Bill 60, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Products and Carbon Tax Act, and commends it to the House.

Bill 60, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Products and Carbon Tax Act, received second reading on November 1, 2022 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.

The current carbon tax law sets a tax on six fuel types that, together, cause 75 percent of the

territory’s greenhouse gas emissions. The tax rate depends on the emissions...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's a lot of overhauls; I'm glad to hear that. I'm curious whether there is any plans to increase capacity on the Snare Hydro System or whether any of these overhauls will actually result in that? I note that about 20 percent of our power here is actually from diesel at Jackfish because of water levels and lots of different problems that occur at Snare over time to time. And there's no way that that system has capacity to open up another mine on it, allow for electrification of vehicles, or population increases. So are there any plans to increase capacity in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Snare Hydro System is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, which is perhaps not something to celebrate, and that's approaching the end of its life and replacement costs of hydro systems are in the billions of dollars, Mr. Speaker. Not a number any of us are happy to see. I know the system is actually it's something like seven turbines at four different locations that have been built up over the years at different times. But I'm hoping the Minister can provide me with what is the end of life for any of the current infrastructure at Snare? Thank you.

No further questions, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I heard the Member say there is about four or five inmates in Hay River, and that made me happy because I think at one point we were running an empty jail down there. Can the Minister just speak to I know the trend has been pretty much a steady decrease in inmates, and it's kind of perhaps plateaued. Some of that may be due to COVID. Some of that's due to federal bail changes. Just whether there's been any changes in the trend to how many inmates we have. Thank you.

Yeah, thank you. I see that the victim services line item is increases. So perhaps I'm just going to assume this money moving around due to federal agreements. I guess I just I think community justice is not running as well as we all would like it to. I know that fine options is not even always available in Yellowknife let alone in every community. Diversion is, you know, really dependent on when you got a community justice committee up and running. I know we've struggled to staff many of our community justice committees.

And I know that they really struggle to run the level of programming...