Louis Sebert

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member opposite is quite correct. In certain communities, homeowners who have reached 65 do have their taxes or a portion of their taxes waived, but that is taxation, and I think it is a program that is just about unique in Canada. No, we haven't been contemplating something similar for land lease fees, but we have of course contemplated lowering those fees and also giving our seniors a 50 per cent break on them.

Yes, I understand that there are more meetings between senior staff and corrections officers than there once were. Hopefully, these problems, if they are problems, won't recur in the future. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is important to remember that the federal government only introduced the legislation changing the law last April. This omnibus bill is a very ambitious piece of legislation touching on several departments; Health, Justice, Infrastructure, and Finance, among others. There has been a large-scale public engagement, and I believe, with committee's help and input, we can craft a made-in-the-North response to this change in the law, so I look forward to hearing from standing committee. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank two of our Pages this week, Jed Mitchell and Joel Rhymer from PWK School in Fort Smith, and recognize Clarence Rhymer, their chaperone who is in the gallery.

Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 6, Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Implementation Act, be read for the second time. This bill enacts two new statutes relating to the legalization and regulation of cannabis, the Cannabis Products Act, and the Cannabis Smoking Control Act. The bill also amends the Motor Vehicles Act to provide for prohibitions and enforcement measures related to persons who operate motor vehicles while their ability to do so is impaired by alcohol or drugs or by a combination of both, and to ensure consistency with the...

As mentioned previously, the problem was that, although money was allocated for the project, the bids came in at very, very high amounts and we know we couldn't proceed with those very large bids. I will advise the Member opposite or the House as to the status on both of these projects. I am, again, hoping that the improvements to the building, the interior part, will be completed shortly. As I said, we went out for bids, I believe a couple of times, and the bids came in at much too high. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There were really two projects here. I understand the work on the fence. There's the outer fence that work has been done on, and I'll have to check on that. The improvements that were considered necessary after the escape that took place in 2016 have not yet been completed. I'm hoping to bring good news about that shortly.

Yes, of course, this government is committed to establish open government policy. In these circumstances, again, with the limited timelines that we had, we decided to visit a cross-section of the communities. With respect to Fort McPherson specifically I know that letters were sent to Indigenous and committee governments, including the Hamlet of Fort McPherson, the Tetl'it Gwich'in council band, and the NWT Association of Communities. In addition to that, there was a teleconference in which the people of Fort McPherson participated. Also, there was the NWTAC meeting a couple of weeks ago where...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 6, Cannabis Legalization and Regulations Implementation Act be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I'm not certain whether the Member opposite is talking about the exterior fence or changes that are needed on top of the building. We are working on both of these projects. I understand that one had been completed. I'll have to get back on the Member on that.

The other one, I expect, will be completely shortly. I think we've gone out for proposals on that, but I will certainly keep the Member informed.