Robert C. McLeod

I do, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No.3, 2018-2019" and "Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2018-2019." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize a couple of Pages in the Assembly from Inuvik. We have Amber Lennie-Ipana and we have Kyra Buckle, who are both from Inuvik. I would like to thank them for the work they do, plus all the Pages for the work they do, looking after the Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to advise Members that the Premier will be absent from the House today to attend the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, I don't believe the regulations are flawed. Maybe they do need some work. Again, we are 12 hours into the legalization, and it is a moving target, so the regulations are not flawed.

As for the Minister having the absolute discretion, Ministers or those decision-makers rely on a business plan, a business case, being presented to become vendors, and we have the technical folks have a look at them. They come forward with a recommendation. I don't think Ministers would have the time to sit and review every application, but we rely on the technical folks. They come up with...

Much like the revenue from liquor sales, that goes into a general revenue fund, which we in turn use to deliver a lot of the programs that we offer across the Northwest Territories, and 65 per cent of our budget goes toward social programs, but as far as specifically earmarked, the answer is no. It will be put into general revenue, and we will in turn use that money to deliver many of the programs that we offer today.

We provided the regulations for private vendors to committee. I believe it's also on our website, so if there are those out there who are considering becoming a private vendor, there are opportunities there. It's on the website with all the conditions that they have to meet, and I will follow up, but I would assume that would be part of the plan, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister does not think it's a laughing matter, but having said that, it was said before that this was something that was sprung upon us by the federal government, and we worked hard to ensure that we were ready for it. The pricing market, we've given committee an update on the costing and how that was going to work, and we have the producer cost, we have the excise duty, we have the markup and the freight commissions administration costs. My understanding is the total retail price, and it depends on the strand, I believe, is around $10.

Yes, the Member is correct. I did say that there was a good uptake at the beginning and made over $5,000 already, but it is now 14 hours into the legalization of cannabis. Maybe once the excitement wears off, the novelty wears off, or it is not the flavour of the day, there might be some changes, and it might get back to business as usual.

The Minister does make the final determination. I am not going to sit there and decide whether this business is viable; I would rely on the recommendations of those that would provide some technical and financial advice. I don't make the ultimate decision as...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we want to be sure that those who are seriously interested are fully qualified candidates to be vendors of cannabis, so I believe it is a fair deal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.