Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my questions are for the Minister of Finance, of course about the topic of the day. Mr. Speaker, the government has decided to keep control of cannabis sales in-house for now, and only in communities with liquor stores for the next six months, it seems like. Of course, online orders will be shipped by regular mail, and we all know how long mail can take at times, and so I would like to ask the Minister: does the Minister have any concerns that this management regime will boost cannabis bootlegging in the small communities, in particular resulting in less effective control of the product and increasing demand on law enforcement? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, cannabis is not new in the NWT. Legalized cannabis, though, is a controlled substance that is currently being distributed through liquor stores, as the Member pointed out, and federal requirements mean that it will be tracked from the seed-to-sale manner, and that has to be considered in our approach. I do not believe that legalization will add to illegal activities. We can use the liquor as a model. Even though liquor sales are legal, there is an illegal market that continues to exist. I think early indications are, and I can share some numbers, as of noon today we had 122 registered customers, we have had 37 orders placed, so we have had well over $5,000 worth of product that has been sold already. That is an early indicator, a 12-hour indicator, that we have put a dent into the illegal market. It is a controlled substance, so people who buy from a legal vendor will know that they have a federally controlled substance, and they can have the assurance that it is a safe product. I wish we could eliminate bootlegging completely, not only with cannabis but with liquor, but unfortunately, realistically, that is always going to exist.
Thank you to the Minister for his reply. Certainly, we appreciate getting the early indicators. It's at this point that I would almost feel like I would like to inject a Jeff Spicoli quote, but, in fact, I do not have one off the top of my head, so I will leave it at that. Bad joke number three. However, Mr. Speaker, if I can, now that pot is legal, the government has committed to opening private retailing in six months. We are seeing the excitement today in the media as retailers open across the country. Is the government committed to fully supporting retail cannabis as part of the growing and diversifying economy in the Northwest Territories?
Our commitment was to have regulation and processes in place to assess anybody considering opening a cannabis store. We have released our regulations and information guide for anyone who might be considering opening a cannabis store well before the sixth month, and we will work with anyone considering opening a cannabis store. Opening a store within the retail framework has been released.
Thank you to the Minister for his reply. That leads me to my next question, and that is: is the government currently accepting and processing applications so retailers can be ready next April, when the six months is up, or is April when we will start processing applications?
We have not been contacted by any potential retailers at this point. Should interested parties come forward, we will assess those as described in the information guide that was released. So we would work with those who are considering becoming a vendor because we have released the guide, so the answer, I guess, is yes, we would look at starting to process applications.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
All right. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for informing us of that. We can now look forward to the applications rolling in, hopefully. "Rolling" in, bad joke number four. Okay, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the government's retail cannabis framework document lays out a pretty detailed guide for retailers, and I want to commend the government for their effort on putting that together.
What steps is the department taking to prepare for its own inspection and enforcement when it comes to their role when private retailing is permitted? How is the government preparing as it relates to inspection and enforcement? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That was almost number five, there. The agreement that a vendor enters into with the NWT Liquor and Cannabis Commission has online requirements and inspection activities. They would enter into an agreement that would allow for the inspections, and the online guide outlines the requirements that would be needed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
