Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, at this particular point, all of it is being used to account for past growth in the operations of the Liquor Commission. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I specifically asked around the procurement of liquor for the purposes of retail sales. Can the Minister confirm the other purposes the fund is currently used for? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.
Mr. Chair, I would ask Mr. Kalgutkar to respond to that. Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Sorry, thank you, Mr. Chair. So the purpose of the limit is to ensure that the assets, the current assets, of the Liquor Commission don't exceed the current liabilities of the commission in an amount in excess of $6.5 million. So it is really there to allow the Liquor Commission to purchase the inventory necessary to operate the commission, but it is also there to ensure that the Liquor Commission manages its working capital efficiently, and then, when it does build up excess assets in terms of cash, it transfers that cash back to the consolidated revenue fund. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. How often do revenues exceed or does the fund exceed its limits? Are those transferred to general revenue? Is this a common occurrence? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I will refer that to Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Because the current limit is quite constraining, the Liquor Commission currently does make regular transfers into the consolidated revenue fund when it needs to. It likely does it on a quarterly basis. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Mr. Testart.
Is the Minister in a position to answer any detailed information about the procurement of cannabis supply, including potential cannabis products that will be made available through retailers in the Northwest Territories and the names of suppliers that the government has spoken to? Is the Minister able to answer any of those details? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, because we are talking to a couple of potential suppliers, I don't think I'm in a position to answer any detailed questions on the procurement of cannabis. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Testart.
The Minister did say he'd give committee a heads up when a supply contract has been entered into with a producer. Can the Minister commit to bringing that before standing committee by way of a public hearing to answer any questions of the general public interests related to cannabis procurement for the government as a wholesaler? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I did make a commitment to share it with committee, and then we can have a discussion at that time. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the Minister for his responses. Nothing further. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I probably have one, maybe two, questions in regard to this here. When the Minister is providing this information to committee, can you tell us what strains? I have just found out there are over 3,000 different strains of the product. Will the Minister be able to provide us a list of this information? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my understanding is that our officials have a meeting with one of the potential suppliers next week. They will be talking about the different strains. Again, when I give committee an update, we will be able to get into further detail once I know more. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you. I appreciate the Minister making that commitment. I am hoping that we can find out what the product is. I guess, as we have been working on this bill and learning more and more, cannabis is a different creature than alcohol.
When we purchase our products, do we have storage that is being properly looked after, and developing that? Again, with this product, it gets mouldy. It gets outdated, from my understanding. My understanding is two to three weeks is the shelf life of this product.
When we talk about this, have we looked at these questions and come up with an answer? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Before I ask the Minister to respond, if we can, focus our discussions and questions to the act at hand and be mindful of the questions that may be related to Bill 6. Go ahead, Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is part of the discussions that we are having with the potential supplier. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, I am just asking this here. Can we get a complete update when the Minister is able to provide that to the committee? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, as I responded to the chair of government operations, once we have more information and more detail to share on the path going forward, then we will provide committee with an update. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Apparently, our technicians are resetting the clock, so we have got our clerk monitoring that, for your information. Go ahead, Mr. Thompson.
I'm good. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Questions? Is committee agreed that there are no further comments?
Agreed.
Can we proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill?
Agreed.
Committee, we will defer Bill 19 and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 1 of the bill, the act as amended by this act. Clause 1. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Clause 2.
Agreed.
Committee, to the bill as a whole. Does committee agree that Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Revolving Fund Act, is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Bill 19 is now ready for third reading. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 19?
Agreed.
Thank you, Minister, and thank you to the witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber. Thank you. Committee, we have agreed to consider Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act. I will ask the Minister responsible, Minister Schumann, to introduce the bill.
