Bill Braden

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This too is something that I hope the whole idea of going and looking at two different acts takes some time. But I would put to the Minister to consider that I think we already have a very strong precedent for that in our government, and this is in the area of tobacco legislation. I think it is the Department of Finance that looks after taxation and administration of cigarettes, but, yet, the Department of Health has demonstrated, I think with extraordinary vigour and good results, that we are making headway on the reduction of tobacco and its impact on society. I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question this afternoon is a follow-up to my statement and it is directed to the Minister of Finance concerning the upcoming review of the Liquor Act. I wonder if the Minister could give us an outline of the process that the government is planning on undertaking in its review and rewrite of the Liquor Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In a newsletter that I recently distributed to my riding, Mr. Speaker, I proposed that this government should consider taking a review to a new step in that we would be probably looking at two acts governing the way we control liquor. Mr. Speaker, one act would provide an effective business framework for the supply, the taxation and the pricing of alcohol. The other, and the far more significant one, the one we really need, is to legislate an entirely new approach for the prevention, awareness, enforcement, treatment and community empowerment, a social approach to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There has been considerable discussion already in this Assembly, Mr. Speaker, about a number of tax measures that this government has proposed, a couple of which we have already approved and two of which have yet to come. I’ve already said that I think the government has taken a positive step in putting these together in a bundle, so to speak, as the Minister of Finance did in his budget address. This helps everyone understand and comprehend what we’ve got ahead of us and what this government’s plans are for how to manage our fiscal situation.

The principle of the...

Thank you. You know, the Minister is right in that if we get into a sort of he said/she said discussion here, we’re not going to help the issue. I would like to use my last question to ask on a go-forward basis. Will the Minister commit to bringing a new Liquor Act forward and to do so in time for consideration and passage by this Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. This, indeed, is the kind of discussion that is useful to the whole topic, but it is one that I think really needs to be broadly expanded, Mr. Speaker, if we’re going to sit here and debate the fine points of a mandate and judicial ruling, we could be here for a long time and not address what really is at issue here. That is the cost in human terms of the abuse and mismanagement of alcohol. So at least in consideration of the environment we’re in today, what steps will the Minister take to endorse our Liquor Licensing Board’s new and more proactive approach to enforcing our laws...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues. So between the Minister responsible for managing liquor in the Northwest Territories and the judiciary, we have a dramatic difference -- I would say a grand canyon, Mr. Speaker -- in how we manage and enforce our laws. It is long overdue that we resolve these issues with a full-scale revamping and modernization of our antiquated liquor legislation. It should go beyond just the issues surrounding this board, but it should also go into many other areas that are impacted by the way we manage alcohol. In the meantime, Mr. Speaker, I support the direction...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My colleague from Hay River North has already made reference to the words, the time that this Assembly has spent on the business incentive policy not only in the last few days but over the last few years. I would not extend this, but to say that from the point of view of the business community who are principally the clients and this government's partners in developing and advancing this Northwest Territories, that the plea is for consistency, stability and integrity in the way we go about our business.

Markets grow and evolve. They have certainly done so since this...

Mr. Speaker, the information that the Minister is providing just doesn’t jibe with what I heard from Mr. Simpson. Again, in the conversation I had with him this morning, in the aspect of seeking assistance from the department he said that he or we, the board, felt like we were high school kids going and asking for help to get a few things done like building a Web site, more training for their own people, training for bar staff and wait staff, continually denied at the administrative and bureaucratic level. So where the Minister says we’ll support you, in reality that is just not the case as I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my statement today I addressed the area of the Liquor Licensing Board so my questions are for the Minister of Finance who has responsibility for that area. I contrasted a statement by the Minister in which -- I’m paraphrasing here -- he indicated that it’s difficult for the board to go into social aspects in expanding its mandate. Yet a judge of our court indicated that considerations, which focus on public safety and public peace that are consistent within the purpose of the Liquor Act and the intention of the legislature. My question for the Minister, Mr. Roland...