Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Finance and I apologize. I didn’t give him a heads up before getting in here but I’ve had concerns raised to me by constituents about liquor licensing here in Yellowknife. I believe I heard the Minister say earlier in this sitting that he was going to be conducting a review of liquor licensing. I think that that would also include some public engagements. Can the Minister just talk to us a little bit about the scope of that review of liquor licensing? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we were going to look at the liquor licensing across the Northwest Territories, and when the Member stands up to ask his second question, if he would take a little bit of time so that I could pull it up in a briefing note, I would be happy to respond.
I am glad he has done the heavy lifting and he has got his briefing binder on his desk now. I had asked about the scope of the review, and I believe he committed to some public engagements around that. Maybe I could get the Minister to commit to provide more information to this side of the House, and perhaps even to the public about what the scope of this review is going to entail?
I can commit to providing a scope of the review to Members, and then, I think we will be in a position to share that review with the public. As I committed to it, I think earlier in this session, we are hoping to get some public input into the review. I will make that commitment that we will work with Members and make sure we get the information out to the public.
I want to thank the Minister for that, and I know I put him on the spot, but that is what I was hoping to hear. I mentioned earlier how I have had some constituents raise these issues with me. Would the Minister be willing to meet informally with Yellowknife business owners, operators, to discuss improvements to our liquor licensing? Is that something the Minister would be prepared to commit to?
I have had an opportunity to meet with one of the manufacturers here in the capital along with a Member from Yellowknife North, and a very productive meeting. They made a lot of their concerns known, and I think we took that away and we realized that they had a very valid point, so I think we were trying to take steps to address that. There will be an opportunity for the businesses to have input, and if they require a meeting of myself, then, I am sure I can make arrangements to have a sit down with them as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
