Louis Sebert

I am not certain of the answer that. I don't think they would all have to be first aid certified, but I can get back to the Member on that. I don't have any exact information on that. Thank you.

I know that, as of January 25, the regulator is in issue 20 operating licence for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Again, I don't know the long, long history of this. Well, I guess it doesn't have that long a history, but I don't think we have heard from them that they require more resources at this time. Thank you.

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...

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since the incident of August 2016, once we recognized that there were some improvements that needed to be conducted at the facility, early attempts were not as successful, as the bids came in at way above what we were expecting. However, we are still working on this, and hopefully this situation will be resolved in the near future. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Legalization of cannabis was, of course, announced by the federal government approximately one year ago, so we had a very limited time to meet the target date of July 2018. Staff visited nine communities; Fort Simpson, Fort Liard, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic, Norman Wells, Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Hay River, and Behchoko. We simply didn't have the opportunity or time to visit all 33 communities.

In addition to that, there was an online survey that was open to all residents. As I mentioned, public hearings were held in seven regional centres, including Inuvik, and two smaller...

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...