Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The motion is in order. The motion is non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 21 has had its first reading. First reading of bills. Minister of Finance.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 22, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2018-2019, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The motion is in order. The motion is non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 22 has had its first reading. First reading of bills. Minister of Finance.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 23, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2018-2019, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The motion is in order. The motion is non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Speaker, I seek consent to proceed with second reading of Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The Member is requesting consent required for second reading. Are there any nays? There are no nays.
---Unanimous consent granted
Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act, be read for the second time. This bill amends the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act to allow the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation to use money received by the corporation in interest in a financial year for the purpose of carrying on business of the corporation in the following fiscal year if certain conditions are met, and correct an outdated reference to federal legislation in the definition of "business enterprise." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 21 has had its second reading. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 74(2) and have Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act, be moved into Committee of the Whole for today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to waive Rule 74(2) and have Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act, be moved into Committee of the Whole. Are there any nays? There are no nays.
---Unanimous consent granted
It is now before the Committee of the Whole for later on today. Masi. Bill 21 is moved to Committee of the Whole. Second reading of bills. Minister of Finance.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 22, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructures Expenditures), No. 2, 2018-2019, be read for the second time. Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour. All those opposed. Motion carried.
---Carried
Bill 22 has had a second reading. Second reading of bills. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 23, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2018-2019, be read for the second time. Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for operation expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour. All those opposed. Motion carried.
---Carried
Bill 23 has had a second reading. Second reading of bills. Item 19, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bill 6, Cannabis Legalization and Regulations Implementation Act; Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act; Minister's Statement 1-18(3), North Slave Correctional Complex Inmate Concerns; Minister's Statement 19-18(3), Aurora College Foundational Review Process; and Committee Report 8-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2016-2017 Public Accounts of the Government of the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, committee. I now call Committee of the Whole to order. Mr. Beaulieu, what is the wish of committee?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, committee would like to consider Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Revolving Fund Act; Bill 21, An Act to Amend NWT Business Development and Investment Corporation Act; and Bill 6, Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Implementation Act, in that order. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. We will continue after a short recess. Thank you.
---SHORT RECESS
We will call committee back to order. Committee, we have agreed to consider Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act. I will ask the Minister responsible for the bill to introduce it.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'm here to review Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act. The purpose of this proposed legislative amendment is to increase the authorized limit set out in Section 6 of the Revolving Funds Act, from $6.5 million to $12 million, to recognize the growth of operations of the NWT Liquor Commission since the limit was last increased in 1990. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Would the Minister like to bring witnesses into the chamber?
I would, Mr. Chair.
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the chamber. Minister McLeod, please introduce your witnesses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, Mr. Chair, to my right, I have Mr. David Stewart, who is the deputy minister of Finance. To my left, I have Mr. Sandy Kalgutkar, who is deputy secretary to the FMB. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. I will now open the floor for general comments to Bill 19. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, the committee has reviewed the legislative proposal and I'll speak to that now. Standing Committee on Government Operations reviewed the legislative proposal 18-6, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act, on April 20th, 2018. The committee understands that the authorized limit of the Liquor Revolving Fund must be increased in order to enable to Liquor Commission to prepare for the impacts associated with the addition of cannabis sales to its operations. Given the tight timelines associated with the review of Bill 6, Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Implementation Act, and the extensive consultation that took place around the Liquor Commission's role in cannabis sales, the committee agreed to forgo the 120-day review period of Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act, to enable introduction of the bill during this May sitting. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Are there other general comments from committee? Recognizing Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I'll make use of the time allotted for opening comments to continue with some lines of questions for the Minister. So the increase to the revolving fund is $5.5 million. Can the Minister confirm if that is what's anticipated, the cost of the cannabis supply for the Liquor Commission is around that number or falls within that number? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the increase, as I said before, it hasn't been increased since 1990. An external auditor recently recommended an increase to the authorized limit, so this particular amount is not specifically ear-marked for cannabis, though I'm sure, during the operations of the Liquor Commission, that would have an effect on it. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So from the committee's review of the legislative proposal, our committee's understanding was that it was to absorb the anticipated cost of cannabis. I hear from the Minister now that that's not in fact the case; it's just more or less a housekeeping amendment to modernize or update the bill since 1990. As the Minister has indicated, this increase could be used for the procurement of cannabis. Can the Minister comment on whether or not a supply agreement has been reached with a cannabis producer? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I believe we're in the final stages of negotiating an agreement with a supplier, and once that is finalized, we will give committee a heads up. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister answer how much of the fund was being utilized by liquor procurement? Thank you.
