Mr. Speaker, the NWT Liquor Act has been in place since the early 1980s and has not seen a substantive review in over a decade. The NWT has seen many changes since then, including division in 1999, a rapidly growing economy, and the advent of aboriginal self-government, among others. There have been numerous calls, including in this House, for a review that will identify ways to improve our liquor legislation by making it more flexible and adaptable to the needs and priorities of NWT residents.

This review began earlier this year. The public consultation process began this summer, and I am pleased to report, Mr. Speaker, that it has gone well. We have developed a discussion guide that summarizes the issues in the review, which also has been used as the basis for our consultation. The guide was mailed out this summer across the NWT to community governments, non-government organizations, and other stakeholders and interested groups with requests for comments. A web site was developed to provide a forum for distributing information, and for individuals to use to provide input and comment. In addition, meetings were held with the Liquor Licensing Board, the RCMP, liquor inspectors, and other government institutions responsible for enforcing the Liquor Act. Separate meetings were held with liquor licensees in some NWT communities.

Community meetings were held in September in nine communities across the NWT. These were: Hay River, Inuvik, Fort McPherson, Tuktoyaktuk, Fort Good Hope, Norman Wells, Fort Simpson, Yellowknife, and Behchoko. In order to ensure that the process allowed for input from all communities, following a suggestion from the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, funding was provided to bring two representatives from other communities to attend the public meeting in the nearest community. Although the public meetings are now complete, NWT residents have until October 31, 2005, to submit their comments on the Liquor Act in writing to the Department of Finance, or online at the Department of Finance web site, by following the link to the Liquor Act review.

Mr. Speaker, we expect to receive the consultant's report in December, which will be made public. We are targeting introduction of the bill in the Legislative Assembly by late 2006.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Members of the Legislative Assembly, and their staff, for the invaluable help they provided in coordinating the consultation visits. I would also like to thank those NWT residents who have provided their comments so far on changes to the Liquor Act, and I encourage everyone who has an interest in this matter to provide their input. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause