Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Bill 59, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, be read for a third time. And Madam Speaker, I am requesting a recorded vote. Thank you.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'd like to, again, rise in my opposition to clause 12 of this bill which will prohibit cannabis sales on polling day. I want to clarify how committee got here.
They started with a recommendation that said, from the Chief Electoral Officer, as recommended in 2015, this subsection in the Election and Plebiscites Act unfairly penalizes business owners. There is no data available to support a view that the sale of liquor, retail or in establishment, has any bearing in polling day turnout. Most Canadian jurisdictions have eliminated this requirement. And then, somehow, we ended up instead of listening to our Chief Electoral Officer and the Chamber of Commerce and numerous businesses' repeated requests to get rid of liquor on polling day, we are adding cannabis.
I also want to clarify the committee seems to think and were originally bringing forward that this will bring some consistency. However, this will only prohibit cannabis if passed on territorial election day. You can still sell cannabis on municipal election days, federal election days, and municipal election days.
Additionally, the Minister of Finance has recently in their liquor legislation review stated that they will remove the requirement on the prohibition of selling alcohol on polling day. This is actually found in the liquor regulations. It does not require legislative amendment. So the Minister can and should make that change any day. But here we are, once again, making it illegal to sell cannabis every day every four years once a day for really no reason at all.
When the Cannabis Act was passed, it did not include this section. There's no intention as far as I can tell by the Liquor Act or the Cannabis Act to prohibit the selling. It is really just this one motion being brought forward today.
Unfortunately, this morning when I wanted to delete this, I forgot to get a seconder. I have no idea whether I have any support for this or if I am alone but should any Member wish to second a motion deleting clause 12, that would be greatly appreciated or else perhaps this will just go up in smoke. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
To the motion.
Agreed.
