Kieron Testart

I know that the Yellowknife City Council, for example, has had some debate around how this is going to operate, so it's good to hear that the Minister is working directly with distributors. There has been some movement on the production side of cannabis in Canada, with a number of boutique cannabis strains being approved by Health Canada, et cetera. Is the NWT Cannabis Commission considering expanding its inventory and bringing more strains and entering into more supply agreements so we can diversify our product base and give consumers more choice?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Bill 30: An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act be ordered read for a third time as amended. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Members heard from my Member's statement, there is some concern around the commitment to privatize retail opportunities for cannabis in the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission give the House an update as to the privatization process to date? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that clause 2 of Bill 30 be renumbered as subclause 2(1), and the following be added after that renumbered subclause: (2) the second recital of the preamble is amended by adding "genetic characteristics" after "disability". Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to commend this government on its move towards eventually allowing for the privatization of cannabis sales, production, extraction, and purification. It is clear that the public wants to see entrepreneurs empowered to thrive and prosper, as they are no longer accepting of Crown monopolies or the failed policies of prohibition that have made criminals out of our citizens for recreational use of a substance with substantially less harmful effects than alcohol, while empowering thugs, gangsters, bootleggers, and smugglers to exploit our youth and communities.

However...

Thank you. Given that, can the Minister relay what their feedback was on this issue? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Why was that information not provided to committee? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am hoping the Minister can provide some detail on something that occurred during the course of our review of the bill. The committee, as announced in its report, received a letter from the Minister from the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association to the Department of Justice's assistant deputy minister outlining the insurance industry's views on prohibiting discrimination on the basis of genetic characteristics. The committee understood at that time that this letter was, in fact, solicited by the Department of Justice. Can the Minister confirm if that is true...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the Human Rights Commission develop an evaluation framework for assessing the efficacy of moving to a restorative process, which includes in its methodology a gender-based analysis and an assessment of the impacts on Indigenous people, and further, that the findings of this review be tabled in the Legislative Assembly in the first sitting following April 1, 2021, at which time the amendments to the Human Rights Act made by Bill 30 will be fully implemented. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee would like to consider Committee Report 15-18(3), Report on the Review of Bill 30, an Act to Amend the Human Rights Act, and Bill 30, An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act. Thank you, Mr. Chair.