Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Tobacco is bad, period. We all agree that cigarettes contain known carcinogens that cost our health care systems millions of dollars annually. What kills me even more is that I don’t think we’re collecting all our taxes on this product, because I believe we have an open door in the tobacco tax collection process itself that is half open, and this half-open door could be potentially exploited. I will attempt to walk the Members here today down a very complex path in tobacco tax collection.

To start, there are a myriad of terms thrown in the collection of tax for tobacco...

Merci, M. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

…for bringing forward today what I think is an important motion, which I’ll be voting in favour. I started off in my native tongue of French, and not because I feel confident that I have a secretariat in French, but moreover that I know there’s security in my language moving forward. I think, in essence, this is what this motion is looking at, is security.

Not to reiterate what we’ve heard today from some of the Members here, we talked about the importance from the justice system, the medical system, which I think is utterly important. We...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister for leaning towards the direction of a single-source distribution centre, but to go further now, I believe that the issue being raised today puts some doubt in the way we’re doing our tobacco tax. In doing so, I’m asking the Minister: Could we have a whole disclosure to the House with the internal Audit Bureau so that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that we are indeed 100 percent confident that we’re collecting this tobacco tax, and would the Minister agree to reporting these findings to this House? Thank you.

I appreciate the summation, as I know I heard from the Minister before. But going back to the suggestion of a single distribution wholesaler in the NWT to mitigate this manual self-reporting structure as we see today, I think it’s a wise move on behalf of the GNWT and I think it’s also a smart business decision. I guess the question is: What’s holding the Minister back from considering a solution so we can put accountability and public trust back into the system?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank two Pages here from the area of Range Lake. We have Naoka Blondin and MacKinley Moore. Thank you for your assistance, guys.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister for going on record that we do have a Mental Health Strategy in the works. My final question will always be that proverbial question: When can we see this on the floor? Thank you.

I appreciate the Minister for indicating about the community counselling programs we have there, but the question to the Minister is: These counsel programs, are they really specialized to deal with bullying in nature? Bullying is a separate condition I think in cases that because of the repeated and constant repeating and violations that these people and victims have to go through. Are our community-based counselling programs equipped to deal with this type of issue?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to welcome the students here from N.J. Macpherson and thank you. You, too, look awesome in your pink today.

I’ve got some residents here from Range Lake I’d like to recognize here in the gallery. I’ve got Aidan Drew… No? How about Zach Smith? My good swimming buddy Mr. Liam Philipp. Mackenzie Pariseau, Destiny Hobbs-Stewart, Kealan Harper and Meadow Munroe. Thank you, students, for coming out today.

I have one more resident here from Range Lake who is no stranger to this House, Ms. Sandy Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank my colleagues here today in support of this motion who spoke. I’d like to take a moment to thank the Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro, for coordinating a concerted effort with our students out there at N.J. Macpherson, and I appreciate her doing so. I’d also like to thank the seconder of this motion, my esteemed colleague from the Sahtu. As a new Member, I’m getting to know and learn his genre of music. We’ve gone from country to R and B and now to hard rock. We are not going to take this anymore. I’m looking forward to what he is going to choose for...

Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS bullying includes a range of repeated, intentional or hurtful behaviours such as threats, name calling, physical abuse, physical violence, shunning, shunning and excluding, stealing or breaking of person’s things and coercing people to do things they do not want to do;

AND WHEREAS in recent years, the use of social media and other information and communication technologies to bullying, also known as cyber-bullying, has become increasingly problematic;

AND WHEREAS people who are subjected to bullying may experience a range of harmful...