Debates of August 23, 2011 (day 16)

Thank you. There has been to date a bit of a cost-benefit analysis done and in fact we waited before bringing this kind of legislation forward to see if it was even worthwhile. We waited for British Columbia’s to get the blessing of the Supreme Court of Canada. If the government does in fact decide to move forward with a lawsuit, then that cost-benefit analysis will, of course, have to be done and the considerations will be whether it is more beneficial to hire in-house counsel, what kind of expertise we’re going to need, whether or not we can share with other jurisdictions with respect to what they’ve learned and those kinds of things.

Mrs. Groenewegen.

I have six minutes on the clock left, thank you. I’d like to ask the Minister when we would partner or collaborate with other jurisdictions to proceed down this path, supposing we get to that where we’re going to try and recover health care costs, are the actions of our government going to be judged and the question asked what did we do to mitigate damages ourselves? I would suggest that other jurisdictions have far more proactive legislation rules when it comes to this, like, for example, people smoking in their vehicles with the windows rolled up and their children in there. I mean, it’s a well known fact that health effects of second-hand smoke that will manifest themselves, surface later in life. Sometimes they are tracked back to children who are exposed to second-hand smoke. We don’t have the most up-to-date kind of rules over those kinds of protections. I mean, would it come back on the GNWT and say, yes, you do have high health care costs related to smoking, but what did you do as a jurisdiction to mitigate the harm of tobacco through cessation programs, through protection of children, through whatever we could do, prevention measures. Would we be judged on what we did or did not do in relation to the success of such a lawsuit? Thank you.

Thank you. Those questions are being asked in other jurisdictions and we would need to be prepared to show what we did do to mitigate. The fact that our mitigation efforts may not have been successful, I don’t think are going to mean that we would necessarily not succeed in a lawsuit of this nature.

Mrs. Groenewegen, you have four minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That’s all I have. Thank you.

General comments. Minister of Health.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to move that we extend sitting hours to conclude the item currently before committee.

A motion is on the floor. The motion is not debatable. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called.

---Carried

The motion is carried to extend sitting hours to conclude the item before the House. General comments on Bill 23?

Detail.

Detail. Clause 1.

---Clauses 1 through 11 inclusive approved

Bill as a whole?

Agreed.

Does committee agree that Bill 23 is ready for third reading?

Agreed.

---Bill 23 as a whole approved for third reading

Bill 23 is ready for third reading. I’d like to thank the Minister and thank the witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses out. What is the wish of committee? Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that we report progress.

---Carried

May I have the report of Committee of the Whole, please, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Committee Report 6-16(6), Report on Review of Bill 10, Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act; Bill 10, NWT Heritage Fund Act; Bill 22, An Act to Amend the Territorial Court Act; and Bill 23, Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, and would like to report progress with four motions being adopted, and that Committee Report 6-16(6) is concluded, and that Bills 22 and 23 are ready for third reading, and that Bill 10 is ready for third reading as amended. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The motion is on the floor. Do we have a seconder? The Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.

---Carried

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 15, An Act to Amend the Deh Cho Bridge Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Bill 15, An Act to Amend the Deh Cho Bridge Act, has had third reading.

---Carried

The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, be read for the third time.

Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, has had third reading.

---Carried

The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Territorial Parks Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Territorial Parks Act, has had third reading.

---Carried

The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act, has had third reading.

---Carried

Orders of the day for Wednesday, August 24, 2011, at 1:30 p.m.:

Prayer

Ministers’ Statements

Members’ Statements

Returns to Oral Questions

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Acknowledgements

Oral Questions

Written Questions

Returns to Written Questions

Replies to Opening Address

Petitions

Reports of Standing and Special Committees

Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills

Tabling of Documents

Notices of Motion

Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills

Motions

Motion 11-16(6), Devolution Negotiations

Motion 12-16(6), Mental Health Care Diversion Programs

First Reading of Bills

Bill 24, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2011-2012

Bill 25, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2011-2012

Second Reading of Bills

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Bill 9, Wildlife Act

Committee Report 7-16(6), Report on the Review of Bill 9, Wildlife Act

Report of Committee of the Whole

Third Reading of Bills

Bill 10, NWT Heritage Fund Act

Bill 22, An Act to Amend the Territorial Court Act

Bill 23, Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act

Orders of the Day

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Wednesday, August 24, 2011, at 1:30 p.m.

---ADJOURNMENT

The House adjourned at 6:09 p.m.