Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just turning to where we started with this amendment was to mirror language in the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, which has a duty of consultation on governments to consult with Indigenous governments before any regulations are made. We canvassed that with the Minister, with the sponsoring Minister, and it was quite clear that went too far, and there were concerns around precedent.

I don't think the MVRMA has set universal precedent for federal legislation, but I digress. I am happy to accept that rationale.

This does not have the same burden. From the onset, I...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Did the government, at any time, reach out to advocacy groups for those suffering from genetic disabilities to solicit their thoughts on this issue as it relates to Bill 30? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is a peculiar motion in our proceedings as it makes a recommendation, not to government, but to a statutory body, the Human Rights Commission. Committee felt that this was an appropriate way to address a concern that we heard around ensuring that this process was meeting its targets.

Although we are fully confident that the Human Rights Commission is going to be reporting on this in its annual statutory reports, this just gives a very clear indication of what we heard and what we feel would be effective for the commission in evaluating the efficacy of the restorative...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Government Operations concluded its review of Bill 30 during the previous sitting of the Legislative Assembly and provided a substantive report on the record there. We discussed a number of important areas of necessary changes to the Human Rights Commission to move it to more of a restorative model that is less adversarial and requires less precise procedural and legal knowledge to participate in its proceedings. These changes greatly modernize and update the structure, and committee supported them fully.

There were a few areas of the bill that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hereby table two documents, one entitled "Role of Caucus and Regular Members' Caucus in Nunavut"; and "Discussion Paper on Parliamentary Group Model." 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...