Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Yellowknife liquor stores aren't very nice, and I would like to make them a little nicer. Mr. Speaker, every once in a while I go down south and I go to buy some beer or wine and I remember that buying alcohol can actually be an enjoyable experience. Whether it be the customer service, the selection, or just making sure that the building is in good repair, I think Yellowknife liquor stores leave a lot to be desired. And, Mr. Speaker, at this point I think it's time that we go out and retender our two Yellowknife liquor stores. Liquor stores in Yellowknife are basically a license to print money and I think that we share the love.
Now, Mr. Speaker, I think the market in this city could hold one or two more liquor stores easily. And we're well aware of the problems that we have with alcoholism, but I don't think the solution is to just allow one vendor to make millions of dollars year over year on it.
Now my preference, as I have stated before, would be to allow alcohol in grocery stores or corner stores. I don't think that I am going to quite get that but I am hoping that I can get a commitment that we will retender the Yellowknife liquor stores, look whether the market can handle one more, perhaps open on Sundays, and perhaps amend the Liquor Act so that if Yellowknife wants to do this but another community doesn't, that's okay, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions for the Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
