Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee Report 13-18(3): Report on the Review of Bill 31, Northwest Territories 911 Act"; and "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 632-18(3): Community Government Funding Gaps." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I wish to table the following document. It's an unsigned letter from Conservative Premiers of Canada to the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Item 15, notices of motion. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bill 36, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Resources Act; Bill 37, An Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Operations Act; Bill 40, Smoking Control and Reduction Act; Bill 41, Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act; Committee Report 23-18(3), Report on the Review of Bill 40: Smoking Control and Reduction Act and Bill 41: Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act; Bill 54, Standard Interest Rates Statutes Amendment Act; Bill 57, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act; Bill 58, Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act; Committee Report 20-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2017-2018 Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Report; Committee Report 21-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Annual Reports of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories; Committee Report 22-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 Annual Reports of the Office of the Languages Commissioner of the Northwest Territories; Minister's Statement 151-18(3), New Federal Infrastructure Agreement; Minister's Statement 158-18(3), Developments in Early Childhood Programs and Services; Minister's Statement 211-18(3), Addressing the Caribou Crisis; and Tabled Document 442-18(3), 2030 NWT Climate Change Strategic Framework 2019-2023 Action Plan.
I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Committee wishes to consider Bill 40, Smoking and Control Reduction Act; Bill 41, Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act; Bill 54, Standard Interest Rates Statutes Amendment Act; Bill 57, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act; Bill 58, Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act; Committee Report 21-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Annual Reports of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories; Committee Report 22-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 Annual Reports of the Office of the Languages Commissioner of the Northwest Territories; and Committee Report 20-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2017-2018 Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Report. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Committee, because of the need to get certain personnel down here, would committee rather deal with the reports first so that we have time to get the law clerk down, or is it the wish of committee to deal with the bills first? Mr. Beaulieu, do you have an opinion?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have no problem dealing with the reports first. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
All right. Committee, we will deal with the reports first. We will take a break at about six o'clock if everyone can sit tight until then. Committee, we have agreed to consider the Report on the Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. I will turn to the chair of the committee for any opening comments. Sorry, one second. I just want to get the number right here. That is Committee Report 21-18(3), for the record. I will turn to Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee Report 21-18(3) represents the Standing Committee on Government Operations Review of the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Annual Reports of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. The committee went over the report with the benefit of having the commissioner with us and reviewed her findings and considered her reports. At this time, the committee is not making any recommendations, but is happy to answer any questions that Members may have. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I will open the floor to general comments on the report. Any general comments? Any questions? Seeing nothing, does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Committee Report 21-18(3)?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We have next agreed to consider the Report on the Report of the Office of the Languages Commissioner, which is Committee Report 22-18(3). I will again turn to the chair of the standing committee for opening comments. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just as the last statutory officer report, the committee reviewed both the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 Annual Reports of the Office of the Languages Commissioner. It should be noted that the Languages Commissioner has made several recommendations in those reports that can be found on pages 9 through 14 of the standing committee's report.
Although the committee is not moving any recommendations with this, the committee believes that many of these recommendations are worth considering for, potentially, the 19th Assembly, as they will have to do a full statutory review of the Official Languages Act, and the act itself has not been substantially amended or updated since its coming into force.
The next government will have the opportunity to do that, and many of these changes are long overdue, so we wish our successor committee well in undertaking that review, but again, at this time, there are no recommendations coming from committee. We are happy to answer any questions that Members may have about our report. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Any general comments or questions from the committee? Seeing none, does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Committee Report 22-18(3)?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We have agreed to next consider Committee Report 20-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2017-2018 Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Report. I will turn once again to the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations for opening comments. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to report on Committee Report 20-18(3). This was the Standing Committee on Government Operations Review of the Report of the 2017-2018 Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Report. Again, we met with representatives from the commission and reviewed their activities over the year, and the concerns that they found at this time. The standing committee is not moving any recommendations, but is happy to answer any questions that Members may have for the committee. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. I will open the floor to general comments or questions from the committee. Comments? Seeing none, does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Committee Report 20-18(3)?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Committee, I am going to call a five-minute break.
---SHORT RECESS
I will now call Committee of the Whole back to order. Mr. Beaulieu?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The first order of business would be Committee Report 23-18(3), Report on Bills 40 and 41. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Does committee agree that we modify our order and consider the Report on the Review of Bills 40 and 41?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will consider Committee Report 23-18(3). I would go to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development for any opening comments. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to report on its review of Bill 40, Smoking Control and Reduction Act, and Bill 41, Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act.
The committee read their report into the House earlier today, giving details on its consultation on Bills 40 and 41. To commence its review of the bills, the Standing Committee on Social Development sent letters inviting input from an extensive list of stakeholders, including all municipal and Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories and a number of non-governmental organizations.
The committee held a public hearing on Bill 40 and 41 in Yellowknife on May 28, 2019. As well, the committee received several public submissions from the Canadian Cancer Society, Action on Smoking and Health, JUUL Lab, and the NWT and NU Public Health Association to name a few. On behalf of committee, I would like to thank everybody who provided input on Bill 40 and 41.
The clause-by-clause review was held on August 6, 2019. At this meeting, the committee moved six separate motions to amend Bill 40 and six separate motions to amend Bill 41. All those motions were carried with concurrence from the Minister.
Individual Members may have additional comments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. I will open the floor to general comments on the report. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I learned a tremendous amount about vaping by reviewing this bill, and I just want to highlight a few of the very important thing that I learned. The first is that young people, that is, people between the ages of 15 and 24, are taking up vaping in the way that a forest fire moves on a hot, windy day. This product was created in 2015, and there are now 5 million users in the U.S. The vaping companies have also made considerable inroads in Canada and in the United Kingdom, as well.
It is important to know that these are nicotine products and that nicotine is addictive. JUUL Labs is owned 35 percent by Marlborough, the makers of the cigarettes. The value of the company is $38 billion, to give you an idea of how much business it's doing. What JUUL labs has in mind is to create lifetime customers from people who are vaping as teenagers and, perhaps, move on to combustible cigarettes as adults. It is very, very important for us to recognize that, while there isn't a lot of scientific evidence about the effects of vaping because it is a new practise, that we err on the side of caution and ensure that we have safeguards in place that will keep vaping products out of the hands of young adults, specifically ages 15 to 24, at least until the effects of vaping are known.
What we do know already is that young adults are drawn to vaping because nicotine is in a more palatable form than smoking combustible cigarettes. Most of us have a memory of trying that for the first time, feeling very ill. Now, you can have it in mango flavour, grape flavour, strawberry flavour, all of these different flavours which make it more desirable than the straight nicotine flavour, so getting rid of flavours is really important to making this product less desirable for young people.
Another thing that is really important to know is that nicotine is nicotine, and it's addictive in any form, and it's highly addictive. As any long-term smoker will tell you, giving up smoking is an extremely difficult thing to do, and so we do not want to be in a situation of luring young people into a lifetime of addiction with unknown health effects. What we do not want to do at the end of the day is grow new smokers, especially when this is a product that really has no value of any kind and in fact may promote disease in the long run because of the heating of the carrying liquid.
I am very proud of the work that the committee has done to put limits on promotions and discounts. If you go to the Coop Gas Bar here in Yellowknife, you will see a huge display at the check-out counter for JUUL Labs. This is the kind of thing that we need to put a stop to as soon as this bill is assented to.
In addition to that, Bill 40, the idea is to ban tobacco use in public places and make it very difficult, even more difficult, for people to smoke except in their own homes. This is obviously an important way, again, of restricting tobacco use, to keep it away from children and young adults, that it is very circumscribed. I recommend that Members take note of our amendments and consent to them so that we can get a grip on this vaping explosion before it goes any further. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Further comments on the report? Mr. Thompson.
Mr. Chair, I move that the Assembly recommend that the Department of Health and Social Services explore whether the "no smoking" areas around buildings to be prescribed in the new regulations should be expanded. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. There is a motion on the floor. To the motion. Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommend that the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Finance explore the merits of raising the minimum age for the purchase, sale, and supply of liquor, tobacco, cannabis, vaping products, and accessories from 19 to 21. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I know this is not really the opportunity to ask questions, but I am just curious as to why. The committee has made several observations in its report around their sound rationale and argument to raise the age from 19 to a higher age, as has been done in British Columbia. This is on page 10 of the report, and there are a number of arguments that it should be raised from 18 to around 21, or higher than the age for other substances. The committee knows that the Canadian Cancer Society argues that tobacco should be different than alcohol and cannabis, and I understand that because we are definitely moving to a different paradigm as it relates to tobacco and as it relates to the known and scientifically proven deleterious effects on tobacco use on health, yet this motion is calling for broader than just tobacco, but also liquor and cannabis. I just wonder why the committee is calling for all of these age limits to be reviewed and explored as to the merits when the issue here seems to be tobacco and vaping products.
I am not so sure I support even exploring options around liquor and cannabis minimum ages. That is a debate we had when the Cannabis Legalization Implementation Act came forward, and there was good reason to keep those, to keep the minimums, around 19 to prevent the illicit trade of those substances. I think we are in a different paradigm with tobacco, so, at this point, I find it difficult to support looking at all of those limits. I would prefer this motion address the issue here that the committee again has noted in its report, of tobacco and vaping products. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. To the motion. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. MLAs may remember that, during the review of Bill 6 many months ago on legalization of cannabis, I supported an age limit of 21. I believe that the evidence is in the committee's report around the health benefits, long-term health benefits, in terms of increasing consumption age for tobacco to 21, based on a number of studies in the U.S. I want to thank the Canadian Cancer Society for bringing that information forward. This motion is about recommending that the department explore the merits of raising the minimum age. It's not saying that it's going to happen. It's certainly my preference that it would actually be moved up to 21, but I am fine having the department go off and do some further work to look at the merits of raising the age limit to 19 or to 21 for all of these addictive substances. I am fine with this and support it, and I want to thank the Canadian Cancer Society for its work in improving the bill. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. While I appreciate that there are some people who might have concerns with raising the age and including liquor, you know, I can say that we have come a long way as a society as it relates to limiting younger or youth access to these products and, in particular, tobacco. I am not as familiar, clearly, with vaping products, but I remember, even as a very young person, that when I started experimenting with cigarettes, you could walk into the front door of any hotel and there would be a cigarette vending machine, and, so long as you had the money to put into it, you could get a pack of cigarettes out of it. You know, that day and age has past us. We have made significant improvements as a society to keep access to tobacco out of the hands of our younger generation. I do not need to go over any statistical information. It is proven that, the longer we can keep tobacco products out of the hands of our youth, there is a better chance that they are not even going to begin smoking in the first place.
Since losing my mom in 2003 at the same time that I quit smoking, I have spent the last nearly 16 years working diligently with various cancer charities in trying to raise awareness and help those who are battling cancer due to smoking, various forms of lung cancer. Again, I can see that the efforts that are made by governments such as ours are the ones that are starting to make a difference in improving people's lives and keeping them off of tobacco and the negative health effects that it has to begin with, so I see no problem with this motion, and I will be in support. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
