Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to comment on the importance of this piece of legislation. The work of the Statistics Bureau is crucial to building the evidence required to make sound public policy decisions in both the Northwest Territories and Canada, as our statistics are able to be shared. That helps us, especially as lawmakers, to better understand what's happening in our territory and how our decisions are influencing the economy, poverty, the health and wellness of our citizens. Having a sound legislative framework for the work of the statistics bureau is crucial to this initiative...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Honourable Premier. That is good news, and I look forward to seeing the results of that finding. I still think that we have undertaken a process, and I do not think it's premature to start developing policy around that process that is already under way.

My final question is: many of the IGOs, Indigenous government organizations, that participated in this process shared with the standing committee that, for their engagement to be meaningful, they need to have the capacity to actually engage the legislation that is before them. In many cases, they did not...

Perhaps my desire was for a more technical response, but that is a fair point. We do need to work together on this, and we do need to understand the flow of legislation, especially when we have Indigenous governments partnering on this legislation. Many of those governments have come before standing committee in our review of some of these laws and have asked to continue their collaborative role in co-drafting not only the bills, but the regulations arising from these new acts, should they pass. My understanding is that some departments have reached out and started this work of the terms of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm proud to be a Canadian and a Northerner, and I'm proud of our shared history as a country and many peoples and nations, but not all of our history deserves celebrating. As we share international achievements, we must equally share in the mistakes from our past, and those which are still repeated today. We must reflect on the pernicious legacy of wrongheaded policies that work to victimize and harm the peoples with whom we co-exist.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the wrongs inflicted on Indigenous Peoples and Nations through cruelty of the residential school...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, all around the world, students have gone on strike. What would be so important to our next generation that they would feel it important to leave their classes for a day to exercise their freedoms of speech and assembly? The answer is climate change, Mr. Speaker. Many Members have spoken about that today, and I think it's important that this is an issue that is not falling on deaf ears. When our citizens speak out, be they students, be they regular-aged adults, be they seniors, we will always listen and bring their message to the floor of this Assembly if it is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my Member's statement, as of April 1st, the prices of beer for licensees in the City of Yellowknife increased dramatically: for draft brewers, around 10 to 18 percent; bottled beer, 20 percent; and wine, 6 percent. These are significant costs to their businesses and their ability to maintain a viable business without passing on too many costs to the consumer. These are far ahead of what was advertised by the NWT Liquor Commission, who said the prices would be modest. Can the Minister responsible for the Commission respond to what caused these price...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that the Minister has made this choice when his personal feelings are quite different, but our hospitality industry is not about liquor. It's about jobs. It's about business opportunities in the capital and throughout the Northwest Territories. If we are going to support tourism and other opportunities, we need to support it, as well.

There have been calls to reform Canada's antiquated liquor systems. Ontario is moving towards a major reform of policy. There seems to be interest on the ground from, at least, my constituents and the people I have spoken to...

I am a bit confused. The Minister mentioned that the goal here is not to lower the price of alcohol, and yet it seems like that is what was achieved, while the price, as an unintended consequence, went up. Can the Minister clarify: what was the price decrease for consumers as a result of this change?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Several weeks ago, I was informed by members of the public that alcohol prices for bars and restaurants had significantly increased. The changes the government made has caused a nearly 20 percent increase in the cost of some products to our hospitality sector in a single day. This increase in costs would have made it nearly impossible for our hospitality sector to survive without passing along increased price to consumers.

Now, Mr. Speaker, a discount program has been authorized, and the cost to northern businesses has been reduced somewhat, but this did not occur until...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Government Operations has reviewed Bill 29, An Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and that Bill 29 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.