Question.
The Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member for Nunakput, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for the Sahtu, the Member for Yellowknife North, the Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.
The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, the Member for Thebacha.
The results of the recorded vote are: 10 in favour, zero opposed, six abstentions. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Testart.
Mr. Chair, I move that this Assembly recommend that the Government of the Northwest Territories form an interdepartmental working group to prepare for the future regulation of cannabis-based products, including high-potency cannabis products and licensed establishments for cannabis consumption. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. There is a motion on the floor. The motion has been distributed in the motion packages, which actually include all the recommendations. To the motion. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As our report notes, the committee worked with the government to amend the bill to remove the provisions for a cannabis advisory council, as there was no clear indication of what it would be used for and there was a concern that it would allow an unelected body to weigh in on policy decisions that are more properly vested in the standing committee in our unique consensus system. However, there still is need for an internal government approach to future cannabis-based products, high-potency cannabis products, and licensed establishments for cannabis consumption.
As we have already heard in debate, the scope of the bill did not allow the standing committee to amend the bill to allow for cannabis lounges, and that has left us in a predicament where there are extensive regulations on where cannabis can be consumed publicly, but no legal place aside from your private property to do so. So it is the hope, by establishing a working group, that the GNWT will be in a better position to weigh in on these decisions, to take the time to develop how they are going to work, especially in regard to edibles, which are coming in 2019, and high-potency cannabis products, which many jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis have also brought under their regulations, as the existence of these products can have serious human health effects if they are not properly controlled. First, the committee hopes that this recommendation will carry and that the government will work to establish this group. That concludes my comments on this motion. However, I would like to ask for a recorded vote at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. To the motion. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I will support this motion, but this is exactly the kind of task that could have been assigned to an advisory committee, had the committee been given the proper mandate and membership and so on.
You know, I served on the Waste Reduction and Recovery Advisory Committee to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources for 10 years. I chaired it for a good part of that, as well. It was made up of a number of representatives with expertise in various areas, and it did provide, I think, good advice to the Minister. I think it has also allowed for the waste reduction and recycling efforts to improve in the Northwest Territories over a period of time.
This is the kind of thing that should have been given to an advisory committee; but, given that, I will still support the idea of a working group. It would have been my preference to have had an advisory committee to allow for representation outside of the government on such a working group. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. To the motion. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this is an important recommendation. We are describing cannabis as a recreational product, and yet we have set up the regulation, as I said in my opening remarks, so that it's not possible for people to consume it in a recreational setting. They're told as well it's not advisable for them to consume it around their children, which I appreciate, but the fact is that, if we're going to legalize the recreational substance, then we need to authorize recreational places to consume it. My hope is that this will be a primary concern for this group, this interdepartmental working group, that they figure out how to make recreational consumption in public places possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion. Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I have a little difficulty supporting this motion because, in our community visits, I didn't hear that communities wanted licensed establishments. Actually, there are two people who kind of felt that that encouraged or maybe sent the wrong message to our youth, which I see where they're coming from on this. Maybe further down the line this may be all right, but for now, I find it difficult to support this one because of what I heard in the communities. You know, it may be different here in Yellowknife, but the smaller communities feel that this is an issue. So, thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. To the motion, Mr. Nakimayak.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I agree with the previous speaker. I have a hard time supporting this, as this recommendation could be easily put into the following one, and it would take care of the same thing. I think the differences between the communities and the capital and other regional centres are very different, and I think we need to respect that there are many professionals who are working on this, I'm sure very hard right now, and I think mixing these two together would make more sense than having three and four together. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Nakimayak. To the motion. Mr. McNeely.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I do have a problem with this motion here. Consulting with the four bands through the Sahtu Dene Council here in my area, I know they're interested in the commercial side of privatization, but given their interest in the terms of reference that may be developed for this working group, this may defeat the initiative. At the same time, what is going to be discussed tomorrow in supporting education and a timeframe allowing education? So I see their wishes, siding in my discussions with them, compromising or having difficulty with this motion here. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. To the motion, Mr. Testart.
I'd like to close debate, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I appreciate, I certainly appreciate my honourable friends sharing the thoughts of the communities that they represent; however, I would like to point out that this motion does not call for the act to be changed to allow for licensed establishments for cannabis consumption, nor does it call for including highpotency cannabis in the act, nor does it call for edibles. All this motion is calling for is an interdepartmental working group to prepare for future regulations. Of course, this working group could produce advice that says, "Do not allow for licensed establishments," or it could go the other way, but to have an expert body within the GNWT to undertake this work and to provide advice to government and to provide advice to the standing committees, I think, is very important.
So for my colleagues who do have concerns around licensed establishments, I just want to reassure them that this motion does not call for their implementation; it merely calls for a working group to assist government and Members of this House in the future on these sorts of issues. If you could take that into consideration when you cast your vote, and please consider giving your support to this working group, so we can all be better prepared to deal with the future of legal cannabis in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu NedheWiilideh, the Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for the Deh Cho, the Member for Yellowknife North.
All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.
The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, the Member for Thebacha, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for Sahtu, the Member for Nunakput.
The results of the recorded vote are: seven in favour, zero opposed, nine abstentions. The motion is carried.
Carried
Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommend that the Government of the Northwest Territories form an interagency working group to address cannabisrelated enforcement planning. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. There is a motion on the floor. The motion has been distributed and is in order. To the motion. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Throughout our travels, we heard the issue about enforcement being an issue, whether it was members of the public, community councils, or even enforcement officers. So they were asking these questions and, by having this committee, we can ensure that the new laws are clearly communicated and that we would be able to encourage discussion and informationsharing and provide additional supports to communities with limited resources, i.e. the smaller communities that I'm representing in my riding. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. To the motion. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I want to acknowledge the additional information that we did receive from the Minister of Justice on enforcement, and we had a discussion around this in the clausebyclause review. It does appear that our Cabinet colleagues and their staff have been doing some work to try to clarify the issues around enforcement, but obviously there's still a lot of confusion out there, and that's why I think this is a good idea and I will support it. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion. Mr. McNeely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Speaking to this motion here, when I'm talking about the Sahtu land claim, there are elements in the land claim which already exist on an intergovernmental working relationship to achieve these types of concerning issues there for the existing claim corporation which allows for program delivery. In my view, the element towards leading to this already exists. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. To the motion. I will allow the mover of the motion to close debate. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wish to have a recorded vote. Thank you.
The Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member for Nunakput, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for Yellowknife North, the Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.
The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, the Member for Thebacha, the Member for Sahtu.
Thank you. The results of the recorded vote are: nine in favour, zero opposed, seven abstentions.
---Carried
Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommend that the Government of the Northwest Territories work with the Government of Canada and other government partners to resolve outstanding questions on record suspensions for offences related to cannabis possession. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. One of the issues that was raised quite frequently in the communities was the issue of young people getting charged with cannabis possession charges, and having it serve as a barrier for future employment, for travel, and that the prohibition system has largely set many of our young people out to fail. With the changes made to the record suspension system by the previous federal government, record suspensions are much more time consuming and expensive. It is difficult for everyday citizens who are suffering from relatively minor offences such as cannabis possession to access a record suspension that might allow them access to greater employment opportunities.
With the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in our correctional system, in our justice system, this issue hits very close to home. As a result, it is limiting the futures of many young people. However, the record suspension system is administered by the federal government, and this government does not have the ability to directly speak to it.
Rather than being prescriptive on how the government approaches these issues, the committees wanted to raise this in a meaningful way that allowed the government to find their own solutions while working with the Government of Canada, and potentially other provinces and territories and Indigenous governments, to ultimately find ways to relieve Northerners of the burden of a cannabis possession record that might be limiting their ability to work at the mines, to work for the government, or any other kind of work, or to travel abroad.
I encourage my colleagues to support this motion so we can work together to find ways to help people who are unduly burdened by low-level criminal records that will be irrelevant after cannabis becomes a legal product moving forward. At the appropriate time, I would like a recorded vote. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Beaulieu, to the motion.
