Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, I think this is an important piece of the puzzle that we need to resolve. I would like to ask for a recorded vote. Thank you.
The Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, the Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member for Nunakput, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for the Sahtu, the Member for Yellowknife North, the Member for Yellowknife Centre.
All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.
The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, the Member for Thebacha.
The results of the recorded vote are: nine in favour, zero opposed, six abstentions. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Anything further on this committee report? Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. During our consultation, and especially going into the schools, when we were talking about the education system and getting this material information out there, as some of our colleagues here said, you know, the students were well-informed, but it was based on the Internet and that. Then, when we asked the question in trying to get a good clear direction of it, they basically said that this was not part of the education system. Alcohol and drugs were not part of the education system, and they all said that they should be. It was really interesting listening to the students. They said they would love to see this in the system, evidence-based on the process, so this is where the motion is coming from. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to request a recorded vote, as well, please.
The Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member for Nunakput, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for the Sahtu, the Member for Yellowknife North, the Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.
The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, the Member for Thebacha.
The results of the recorded vote are: 10 in favour, zero opposed, six abstentions. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As our report notes, the committee worked with the government to amend the bill to remove the provisions for a cannabis advisory council, as there was no clear indication of what it would be used for and there was a concern that it would allow an unelected body to weigh in on policy decisions that are more properly vested in the standing committee in our unique consensus system. However, there still is need for an internal government approach to future cannabis-based products, high-potency cannabis products, and licensed establishments for cannabis consumption.
As we have already heard in debate, the scope of the bill did not allow the standing committee to amend the bill to allow for cannabis lounges, and that has left us in a predicament where there are extensive regulations on where cannabis can be consumed publicly, but no legal place aside from your private property to do so. So it is the hope, by establishing a working group, that the GNWT will be in a better position to weigh in on these decisions, to take the time to develop how they are going to work, especially in regard to edibles, which are coming in 2019, and high-potency cannabis products, which many jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis have also brought under their regulations, as the existence of these products can have serious human health effects if they are not properly controlled. First, the committee hopes that this recommendation will carry and that the government will work to establish this group. That concludes my comments on this motion. However, I would like to ask for a recorded vote at the appropriate time. Thank you.
The Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu NedheWiilideh, the Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for the Deh Cho, the Member for Yellowknife North.
All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.
The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, the Member for Thebacha, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for Sahtu, the Member for Nunakput.
The results of the recorded vote are: seven in favour, zero opposed, nine abstentions. The motion is carried.
Carried
Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wish to have a recorded vote. Thank you.
The Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member for Nunakput, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for Yellowknife North, the Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.
The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, the Member for Thebacha, the Member for Sahtu.
Thank you. The results of the recorded vote are: nine in favour, zero opposed, seven abstentions.
---Carried
Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. One of the issues that was raised quite frequently in the communities was the issue of young people getting charged with cannabis possession charges, and having it serve as a barrier for future employment, for travel, and that the prohibition system has largely set many of our young people out to fail. With the changes made to the record suspension system by the previous federal government, record suspensions are much more time consuming and expensive. It is difficult for everyday citizens who are suffering from relatively minor offences such as cannabis possession to access a record suspension that might allow them access to greater employment opportunities.
With the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in our correctional system, in our justice system, this issue hits very close to home. As a result, it is limiting the futures of many young people. However, the record suspension system is administered by the federal government, and this government does not have the ability to directly speak to it.
Rather than being prescriptive on how the government approaches these issues, the committees wanted to raise this in a meaningful way that allowed the government to find their own solutions while working with the Government of Canada, and potentially other provinces and territories and Indigenous governments, to ultimately find ways to relieve Northerners of the burden of a cannabis possession record that might be limiting their ability to work at the mines, to work for the government, or any other kind of work, or to travel abroad.
I encourage my colleagues to support this motion so we can work together to find ways to help people who are unduly burdened by low-level criminal records that will be irrelevant after cannabis becomes a legal product moving forward. At the appropriate time, I would like a recorded vote. Thank you.
The Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu NedheWiilideh, the Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for Sahtu, and the Member for Yellowknife North.
All those opposed, please rise.
The Member for Nunakput.
All those abstaining, please rise.
The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, and the Member for Thebacha.
The results of the recorded vote are: nine in favour, one opposed, six abstentions. Motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Thompson.
Thank you. I will allow the mover to close debate and ask for a recorded vote if he wants. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate everybody speaking on this behalf. I guess this recommendation is being proactive instead of reactive, so we are trying to be proactive and are trying to move forward. We've heard that there is the potential of it to fail and there is potential to be successful, but it is no different than any other business. If you do a good plan, you are going to be successful, you know, and right now that's what we are trying to do, is we are trying to develop programs that will help the people be successful that put a good plan together. That, to me, is what we are recommending. I appreciate everything, just what I've heard from my riding, and I've had letters that they want to do businesses and they want to have production. Is it feasible? I'm not sure, but there are people who are already starting to work on it. So I thank everybody for their comments, and, yes, I would like a recorded vote, thank you.
The Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member for Yellowknife North, the Member for Kam Lake, and the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.
The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, the Member for Thebacha, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for the Sahtu, the Member for Nunakput.
The results of the recorded vote are: seven in favour, zero opposed, nine abstentions. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate your intervention. Further, as to what I was saying, the three areas that we identify here as a committee; public education, public awareness, and public health research related to cannabis use, were felt to be the most appropriate uses for any potential cannabisrelated revenues, and these are areas that largely are underdeveloped.
Obviously, we have only begun public education; public awareness is also in its early stages; and public health research is very limited. It's hard to study an illicit substance, and the limited information we have is not a complete picture of cannabis use. I contrast that with tobacco usage, where we can look at a tobacco smoker from an entire lifetime compared to someone who does not smoke tobacco and compare health outcomes, but we cannot do that with cannabis. So, by funding these activities, I think it will ultimately result in a more informed and bettereducated public when it comes to legal cannabis.
Further, my notes from our consultation said something that kept coming up each and every hearing we had: public education is key to responsible cannabis usage. So I think the people very much understand, the people we serve very much understand, that public education is going to be the most important responsibility of this or any future government in dealing with cannabis or any other addictive substance.
Finally, to get a better picture of the market, the consumption rates, the recommendation is also that the Liquor Commission report on cannabis sales in its annual report and that can be reviewed by the Assembly and by the public, as well. I hope Members will be able to support this committee motion that was developed by both standing committees, and I would like a recorded vote when the time comes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu NedheWiilideh, the Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member Nunakput, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for Sahtu, the Member for Yellowknife North.
All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.
The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, the Member for Thebacha.
The results of the recorded vote are: 10 in favour, zero opposed, six abstentions. The motion is carried.
--Carried
