R.J. Simpson

Mr. Speaker, I now move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 8-18(3) be deemed read and printed in Hansard in its entirety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I heard "possibility" in there. I was under the impression, or maybe it was just hopeful thinking, wishful thinking, that the department was moving forward with this. The Minister mentioned a review. Can I have some sort of timeline of when this review will be complete and when he can give a definitive answer of whether or not this transition is going to take place?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just for clarity, this allows the first motion I made to come into effect on the day of assent, which would start the clock ticking on that six months from when the bill receives assent. It has been a long night. I apologize. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions for the Minister of Justice. During our last sitting, the Minister stated that the corrections service has established a committee to examine the feasibility of implementing a therapeutic community model to treat inmates at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre.

The therapeutic community model considers substance abuse as a symptom of much broader problems in a residential setting and uses holistic treatment approaches that have an impact on every aspect of a resident's life. This represents a substantial shift in our approach to corrections. In...

Just for clarification, this just provides the Minister with the regulationmaking authority that was referenced in my earlier motion. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Briefly, I appreciate the Member's intent to give communities more tools; however, I can't support a motion that sets up another hurdle for small business in this territory, and if utilized, would have the effect of just simply shifting sales from the legal to the illegal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This has come up many times, and I have spoken to it many times. The comment from the communities that got to me was exactly what Mr. Beaulieu was saying, where someone has issues, they have mental health issues, and they are self-medicating for whatever reason. They managed to get off alcohol, and now they have moved to cannabis. They go in that store, and they see that bottle, and the temptation is too much. That is a big effect on someone. Think about that happening to one person. That is a big effect on someone's life.

Everywhere we went, too, we heard concern for the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this motion is what some would call a compromise, what some would call better than nothing, and what some may call nothing more than a smokescreen.

Many Members of this House and many members of the public have expressed a desire for private sales of cannabis and the opportunity to sell cannabis in all communities in the NWT. However, as the bill is written, it gives the Minister of Finance broad discretion, seemingly the broadest discretion available under the law, as to who he designates as a cannabis vendor, and this government has made it clear that it...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't like this motion. I find it too prescriptive, but I am in support of it because our alternative is subservience to what I believe is a wrong-headed policy position for all of the reasons mentioned by Mr. Beaulieu and Mr. Vanthuyne, and I have nothing further to say. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we all know, the committee was supposed to have a public briefing on the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway, and I was hoping that would happen before this motion so we would have a better sense of whether or not the timing is right to make this motion. I see in here it calls for the audit to be completed as soon as practicable, and I know that, the Auditor General's office, you are not going to meet a smarter group of people, and so I think that, if we make this recommendation, they will know the right timing.

Regardless, I think, if this motion fails, I have a feeling...