Louis Sebert

Well, it is rather hard to determine what the demand and supply is of an illegal product. I do not know how we will determine that, but I will say that Federal Minister Goodale in speaking to us at the FPT last week estimated that the illegal market in Canada was somewhere between $7 and $9 billion, so I think we can anticipate that the market is significant throughout the country and, perhaps, no less per capita here than elsewhere.

Mr. Speaker, as this House will know, public meetings have been held in I think nine communities. The last public hearing was today. I understand there is a wide variety of concerns being expressed. Of course, production of cannabis will be licensed by the federal government under the Cannabis Act. That is the proposed legislation. Thank you.

I'm not sure of the financial situation or otherwise of Virdi Power. Clearly, we have made apparent to them our grave concerns about this matter and we also retained, apart from legal counsel which I mentioned earlier, an independent quality control inspector to provide progress reports. Progress is slow and, frankly, Virdi Power is way behind in delivery.

Mr. Speaker, it is our intention that all leaseholders will be treated fairly. I think it's important to realize that not all of these equity leases are identical, so it's going to require a lot of work to go through them one by one, but as I mentioned at the outset we are intending to resolve this matter by treating leaseholders fairly and properly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly, initially what we'll have to do is determine how we are going to be proceeding with the resolution of the equity lease problem. We're hoping to have an overall comprehensive plan that will resolve this very difficult issue. We are going through the process right now and any positions conditionally approved through the forced growth or initiative process will be defended through committee reviews of the 2018-2019 business plans in November and defended through the main estimates process. The first step really in this procedure will be to determine where we're going with this very...

Mr. Speaker, our residents have demonstrated that cannabis is an important issue for them. Since I last spoke of the legalization of cannabis in May, our government has been hard at work undertaking an extensive engagement program with the public and stakeholders to make sure we understand the views of Northerners.

Our engagement, which formally began in July, has included public meetings in regional centres and select small communities. Seven public meetings have been held to date, with two more scheduled for today and tomorrow in Hay River and Behchoko. An online survey has also been made...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following five documents entitled "Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 750-18(2): Policing in Tsiigehtchic," "Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 764-18(2) and 767-18(2): Sexual Assault Complaints Classified as Unfounded," Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 775-18(2): Auditor General's Report on Correction Services," "Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 776-18(2): Dedicated Space to Support Victims of Sexual Violence," and "Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 799-18(2): Territorial Cannabis Legislation and Regulation." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Government of the Northwest Territories believes that Northerners should make decisions that affect Northerners and that the Nunavut Impact Review Board is fully capable of assessing the impacts of this project. We are satisfied that the board has fully considered NWT concerns in previous Part 5 reviews. I think it is under their legislation. We are confident that this project will be fully considered by the Nunavut board, and therefore we are not seeking intervention by the federal government.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, the government is responsible for the management, habitat conservation, and sustainable use of barren ground caribou and collaborates with Aboriginal governments and organizations, co-management boards, and communities. The GNWT carefully reviews the details of each project proposal with respect to its caribou responsibilities and provides evidence and recommendations for the consideration of all parties and the assessing body.

The GNWT is continuing to work collaboratively with Nunavut stakeholders and other affected parties on the Bathurst caribou range plan...

Yes, as the lease agreements mature or come to an end, Lands is placing them in an overholding status until the issues are addressed. Now what that means practically is that the lease continues under the original lease clauses with an overholding status. We will not be entering into any new equity leases; those are a thing of the past, but we believe that this will not prejudice the current holders.