Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 54, Standard Interest Rates Statutes Amendment Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Not at the moment, Mr. Speaker. We have our liquor retailers in each region, and I think I'd be a little hesitant. Again, I'd be a little hesitant in expanding the number of liquor stores and making liquor a little more available to those who are feeling the effects of it. So, again, we may need to do a review of the whole operation, and I think it's one where we can provide some advice to the incoming government of the 19th, and maybe start some of the work now and doing a review of the overall liquor and cannabis distribution in the Northwest Territories, but at the moment, we're not looking...

As the Department of Finance, I don't believe we have a set number of the amount of stores that we might allow in each district or each community. We would work closely with the municipal governments. Obviously, they would have a very important say as to how many of these outlets they might want to have in their community, so we would work with them and see if we can come up with an agreeable solution. So, again, it's not one that we're going to decide, we're going to make the decision when it's final; we'll work with those who would be directly impacted by the number of retailers in their...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following documents entitled "Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2019-2020"; and "Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures) No. 2, 2019-2020". Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is something that we would consider. If the consumers are looking for a particular type of product or if there is a particular type of product that is more popular than others, then obviously I think the commission would look at having that readily available. So, again, it's a new process. We've been going through it for a while now. We ran into some issues at the start with supply; those issues seem to have been resolved, and we're starting to move forward. Just for the record, I think that we've had about $1.6 or $1.7 million in sales so far; $1.6, I believe, in sales so far. Again, as to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we all know, cannabis has been legal for just going on seven months now. We did make a commitment that we were going to look at privatizing the sale of cannabis. It is a very long, lengthy process, and we make those who are interested aware of that. The Member was correct in his Member's statement before, I think he mentioned the date May 29th, that has been extended to June 30th. Part of that is at their request, because there was a criminal record check that was required, and rather than sticking to a hard date and possibly eliminating someone who might be...

I understand that there are some tests that applicants have to take. Like everyone else, they do the test to see if they qualify for the position, and if the qualify for the position, on top of being a P1 candidate, that would help them get to the next stage. I have seen cases where a number of Aboriginal people who were working within the system were doing some quality work, but didn't quite meet some of the qualifications that were required. I think that we have taken some steps to correct that. I have heard of cases where people were being brought in to do a job that the applicant in the...

I am not sure if we have an actual advocate within the department. I am sure a number of our staff people are working, trying to improve the percentages across the Northwest Territories, but I do know that we have a number of innovative new initiatives that we have been bringing forward. We have one I spoke to yesterday where we would like to work with some of the Indigenous Governments, take on some of their employees, provide them an opportunity to build some capacity, then they go back and serve the people who they represent. There are opportunities. I do believe that we have a lot of...

As the Member is currently aware, amendments to the Environmental Rights Act have been proposed to make it easier to make an application for an investigation. Bill 39 is currently undergoing review by the Standing Committee on Economic Development and the Environment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My understanding is that there were four requests for investigations. For three of the requests, it was determined that the appropriate permits and licences were in place. Therefore, the investigations were declined. The fourth request, a full investigation was undertaken, and recommendations were made.