Kieron Testart

May I ask a point of clarification of the law clerk?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Bill 38 be amended by adding the following after subclause 98(2):

(3) The Minister shall give notice of any proposed new or amended regulations to be made under this section to Indigenous governments or organizations in the Northwest Territories and relevant renewable resource boards and land use planning boards or bodies, at least 30 days before those regulations are made, and shall

(a) provide an opportunity for those Indigenous governments or organizations, renewable resource boards, and land use planning boards or bodies to present their views to the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am proud to support this motion for a second time. I just wanted to clarify, at least, where I am coming from on this. Ministerial discretion is an important feature of all governments, and it is really required for the good function of government as well. That doesn't mean that it can't be guided by very clear criteria.

In this case, when this question was raised by the committee, the Minister's office came back with some very specific examples of where the concerns came out if discretion was completely taken away. As a result, we got a better understanding of where the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I first want to acknowledge the hard work of the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment and on the part of the sponsoring Minister to collaborate on improvements of the bill. Thirty-four motions were moved that were concurred with by the Minister in the committee review stage and did result in a bill that is now more connected with the co-management regime that exists in the Northwest Territories and has far more public-facing information than the original version of the bill. I think that those are laudable improvements.

I am in an interesting position...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 100(4) and to have Committee Report 19-18(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the 2017-2018 Public Accounts, moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration tomorrow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know that the Yellowknife City Council, for example, has had some debate around how this is going to operate, so it's good to hear that the Minister is working directly with distributors. There has been some movement on the production side of cannabis in Canada, with a number of boutique cannabis strains being approved by Health Canada, et cetera. Is the NWT Cannabis Commission considering expanding its inventory and bringing more strains and entering into more supply agreements so we can diversify our product base and give consumers more choice?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Bill 30: An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act be ordered read for a third time as amended. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Members heard from my Member's statement, there is some concern around the commitment to privatize retail opportunities for cannabis in the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission give the House an update as to the privatization process to date? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that clause 2 of Bill 30 be renumbered as subclause 2(1), and the following be added after that renumbered subclause: (2) the second recital of the preamble is amended by adding "genetic characteristics" after "disability". Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to commend this government on its move towards eventually allowing for the privatization of cannabis sales, production, extraction, and purification. It is clear that the public wants to see entrepreneurs empowered to thrive and prosper, as they are no longer accepting of Crown monopolies or the failed policies of prohibition that have made criminals out of our citizens for recreational use of a substance with substantially less harmful effects than alcohol, while empowering thugs, gangsters, bootleggers, and smugglers to exploit our youth and communities.

However...