Mr. Walker emphasized the need for the act and regulations to be strenuously enforced to prevent what he referred to as "bootlegging." One scenario he provided was a truckload of soft drinks or juice brought from Alberta into the NWT. The "bootlegger" would have paid the lower Alberta deposits, which would allow him or her to sell the drinks at a lower cost than drinks with the NWT deposit, and enjoy an unfair advantage over NWT businesses complying with the regulations. Depots would have no way of knowing the NWT deposit had not been paid on those containers, and so would pay for their return, potentially costing the environment fund thousands of dollars. Mr. Walker's fear, which the committee believes does need to be addressed, is that "an environment where legitimate wholesalers and retailers are at a serious price disadvantage will be created and we will not be in business for long given our slim margins, if this act and regulations are not carefully thought out and executed." Mr. Walker is also concerned that prosecutions under this legislation may not be a priority for either the GNWT Department of Justice of the federal Crown. The committee would like to stress that the government must be vigilant in finding ways to minimize the risk of illegal activities so that legitimate businesses are not put at an unfair disadvantage.

One potential solution suggested by our colleague, Mr. Brendan Bell, the MLA for Yellowknife South, is that containers could be marked in some way to show the NWT deposit has been paid. The Minister advised that this had been considered, but that preliminary studies had indicated marking all beverage containers would not be feasible. Members would suggest the Minister request the advisory committee to investigate all possibilities further.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask Ms. Lee to continue on with the report.