Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Bill 40 is now ready for third reading. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 40?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you to the witnesses and to the Minister. Sergeant-at-Arms, you may escort the witnesses from the Chamber. Committee, we have agreed to next consider Bill 41, Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act. I will once again turn to the Minister responsible to introduce the bill. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to introduce Bill 41, the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act. As with Bill 40, the development of Bill 41 has been a result of significant time and effort by the Department of Health and Social Services and would not have been possible without the input and contribution from the Standing Committee on Social Development, as well as many members of the public. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Members of the Standing Committee on Social Development for the time that they have taken to ensure that this bill received a comprehensive review. I wish to acknowledge the time and effort that members of the public took to develop submissions and share research.
There are national concerns around tobacco use and the increasing prevalence of vaping products. The primary purpose of Bill 41, the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act, is to deter the uptake of tobacco and vaping in the NWT, to encourage individuals to quit using these items, to denormalize smoking, and to prevent early initiation of adolescents to addictive products and substances.
Bill 41 would repeal the existing Tobacco Control Act and replace it with a modern piece of legislation that regulates and restricts access to both tobacco products and vapour products and accessories. This bill would restrict access to these items by raising the legal age of purchase to 19, resulting in consistent framework for regulated substances in the Northwest Territories, including cannabis and alcohol. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Does the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development have any opening comments? Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Similar to Bill 40, with Bill 41, we would like to thank the Minister and the department and their staff working with the Legislative Assembly staff. I would also like to thank the committee and people who did their submissions to help us make this a better bill moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister, do you have witnesses who you would like to bring into the chamber?
I do, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the chamber. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses for the record?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my left is Heather Ruptash, who is the senior policy analyst at the Department of Health and Social Services, and on my right, Laura Jeffrey, legislative counsel, Department of Justice. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Welcome, again, to the witnesses. General comments on the bill from committee? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. In the Minister's opening remarks, he says that the bill would restrict access to these items by raising the legal age of purchase to 19. Can the Minister or somebody tell me what is the legal age of purchase right now? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister Abernethy.
Sorry, Mr. Chair. The Member faded out in the last couple words of his question. I want to make sure that I get it right. Can I get him to please repeat it?
The Member asked: what is the current legal age of purchase? Minister.
Eighteen, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly.
That's okay. Thanks.
Thank you. Anything further in terms of general comments from committee? Seeing none, does committee agree that we proceed into a clause-by-clause review of the bill?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. There are 51 clauses. Does committee agree that we consider the clauses as groups of five?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. I will call out the clauses. If you agree, please respond accordingly. Please turn to page 5 of the bill. Clauses 1 through 5.
---Clauses 1 through 51 inclusive, approved
Agreed? Thank you, committee. I will return to the bill number and title: Bill 41, Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. To the bill as a whole. Does committee agree that Bill 41 is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Bill 41 is now ready for third reading. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 41?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you to the Minister and to the witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, you may escort the witnesses from the chamber.
[Microphone not on] consideration of these final three items. Thank you.
---SHORT RECESS
Mr. Chair, I wish to declare that I have a financial interest in Bill 54, Standard Interest Rates Statutes Amendment Act, and I will excuse myself from the Chamber during its consideration of Committee of the Whole today. Mahsi, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Committee, I will ask the Minister responsible for Bill 54 to introduce it, and that will be Minister of Finance. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am here to present Bill 54, the Standard Interest Rate Statutes Amendment Act.
Bill 54 would make legislative amendments to adopt a standard interest rate that would be applied to all Government of the Northwest Territories overdue receivables. This proposal would lower the interest rate charged on receivables while linking the interest rate charged to the Canadian economy and monetary policy.
Currently, the interest rate applied under the Financial Administration Act and all taxation legislation varies creating an administratively complex situation leading to confusion for Northwest Territories residents and companies doing business with the GNWT. This legislation will ensure a standard interest rate is applied. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. I will now turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, the committee that considered the bill for any opening comments that he may have. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Government Operations concluded its review of Bill 54, Standard Interest Rate Statutes Amendment Act, on August 7, with a public clause-by-clause review held at the Legislative Assembly building.
The committee received submissions from the public. The committee supports the government changes to adopt a standard interest rate that will be applied to all GNWT overdue receivables, and will lower the interest rates currently charged by the GNWT on overdue accounts. Individual Membership may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with consideration of this bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister, would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my right, I have Mr. David Stewart, deputy minister of Finance. To my left, I have Cherie Jarock, who is legislative counsel. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Welcome to the witnesses. I will open the floor to general comments on the bill. Any general comments on this bill? Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Over the course of our review of this legislation and hearing from other Members, honourable Members, some of who were Members of the committee and others who participated in some of our discussions around Bill 54, it became apparent that there was a lot of land tenure uncertainty in the Northwest Territories. Although this bill doesn't directly affect that, the consequences of overdue tax arrears on unpaid land taxes is a live issue in many of our communities, in particular for Indigenous peoples and our smaller communities.
Although this bill sets the standard interest rate, it does little to affect those overdue accounts, many of which are directly impacting the livelihood and the peace of mind of many residents. Some of these decisions that were made by the federal government in transferring certain lands to the GNWT have resulted in these arrears. We are considering other pieces of legislation that address land, but in this case, there are still many overdue accounts, and I felt it prudent to raise this concern because, again, it is a concern of many of our residents, particularly those in smaller communities. I think that it is important that the GNWT carefully consider its response to these overdue accounts and ensure that it can provide some relief to historically large sums of arrears and debt owing to people who oftentimes did not make the decision to inherit that land, to possess that tenure, and have been charged as a result.
It is more of a comment. I know that this is something that the Minister is aware of and the department is aware of, but I think that it is important to put on the public record. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Further general opening comments to the bill? Seeing none, does committee agree that we move to our clause-by-clause review?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Committee, please turn to page 1 of the bill. I will call each clause individually. Clause 1. Does committee agree?
---Clauses 1 through 6 inclusive approved
Thank you, committee. I will now call the bill number and title: Bill 54, Standard Interest Rates Statutes Amendment Act. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. To the bill as a whole. Does committee agree that Bill 54, Standard Interest Rates Statutes Amendment Act, is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Bill 54 is now ready for third reading. Does committee that this concludes our consideration of Bill 54?
