Robert C. McLeod

Again, we know the crisis that we are in with climate change, and I think the public is becoming more and more educated as we become more and more educated. Our youth are taking steps to become more and more educated, and I think, through that process, there will be a lot of people doing that on their own, reducing their carbon footprint and how they do business. If it's an initiative that could help us address the situation that we are in, then I think it's incumbent on this Assembly. I say "this government." When I talk about the government, I am talking all 19 Members. It's something that...

Through a jurisdictional review of the climate change programs in Canadian jurisdictions, ENR found that, regardless of the organizational structure, the most important factors in their success were leadership and the authority to act. The GNWT, we believe, has accordingly taken a leadership role on climate change in the territories and organized itself so that climate change is considered at all levels of authority. As the Premier has stated before, at the director level, the ADM, DM, and ministerial committees have been established, and the leadership structure will focus government efforts...

Through a number of the initiatives and strategies that we come forward with, we go out and seek public opinion, consultation with affected stakeholders, and I think it's through that process that they are able to get their input. We have three months left in this Assembly. Again, I can commit to this Chamber that we'll explore the idea of doing something such as that and work with stakeholders. Again, we can make the suggestions, and as we've seen at the beginning of the 18th, it will be upon the Members of the 19th to determine at that time whether this is something that they want to...

Again, recognizing the importance of the voices of the youth in the Northwest Territories, I believe it was in the Assembly before that we actually had a youth forum that the Premier of the day had implemented, and we got feedback from a lot of youth across the Northwest Territories. I think that there is some merit in the Member's suggestion. It is something that we could talk with the young people of the Northwest Territories about as potentially having, working with Education, some type of a climate change symposium, where we could get their opinion on what they would like to see taught in...

I will look at possibly doing this, if I am able, to make that public to the 1 percent who are quite interested in it. The other 99 percent are wondering why we are lowering the price, knowing the effect that it is having on people in the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to see the Member advocating for, even though he said he is not, lower prices for alcohol in the Northwest Territories, knowing the effect that alcohol has on the people of the Northwest Territories. Terminating the contract with the liquor warehouse did result in lower costs to consumer at the liquor stores and, as an unintended consequence of levelling the cost structure for liquor stores and licensees, there was a significant increase to licensees in Yellowknife. We missed that, and as Minister, I take responsibility for that.

It has been addressed. The...

Personal feelings aside, I think that the department has done a good job in trying to mitigate the impact that it was going to have on licensees. I think that we have done that. I have asked the department to do a whole briefing policy review, and there are a number of other things that we may need to do.

I fully understand and I fully respect the impact that it might have on business in the Northwest Territories. I am not blind to that fact. We try to do what we can to have a balance here between the needs of business and the Northwest Territories, and I think we have addressed that. If I am...

Well, there was a price decrease to consumers because, through the discount program, the licensees were actually paying a lesser price than they were able to then pass along those savings to the consumers. I have the numbers here. I could look at possibly putting these on the website so that they know exactly what the prices went down to. It is right in my briefing book. The licence holders paid 8.3 percent less for spirits, 6.1 percent less for wine, and then they did pay a bit more for canned and bottled beer, because I think it is costed on a volume basis.

We have taken steps to ensure that...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm very pleased to recognize my wife Judy in the gallery. Her presence always brightens up the Chamber.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following five documents entitled "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 511-18(3): Consultations on the Bathurst Caribou Herd"; "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 520-18(3): Consultation on Sugar-Sweetened Drinks Tax"; "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 524-18(3): Indigenous Training Programs"; "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 625-18(3) Tlicho All Season Road Costs"; and, "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 647-18(3): Developing a Knowledge Economy." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.