Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member's statement is about the Liquor Act review. It is with great anticipation, Mr. Speaker, that I have awaited the release of the final report of the Liquor Act review. This review has been long overdue. The last time the GNWT took a look at this legislation was back in 1994, but, at that time, nothing was changed. I had an opportunity to look through the report. I wanted to take this opportunity to share some initial thoughts on things that I saw.

Mr. Speaker, I am very much in support of this proposal where we increase maximum fines for bootlegging individuals up to $25,000 or 12 months in jail, and $50,000 or two years in jail for subsequent offences. For corporations, the proposed fines are even higher: $50,000 for first offence and $100,000 if caught again. Bootlegging is a serious concern across the NWT. I agree with these findings in this review. It is time to get tough. Let's give this legislation some teeth. What we are missing here, Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, is clear minimums to make sure people know we truly do mean business.

Mr. Speaker, from a constituent point of view, I do have some reservations about Sundays and holiday openings. The concern, Mr. Speaker, is the disruption of intoxicated people spilling out of the bars that are in my residential areas of downtown. Mr. Speaker, I tabled a document in the House last October which outlined concerns of some constituents about the proposed Sunday openings. The residents of Northern Heights already contend with negative factors such as noise and public drunkenness. Sunday openings would only add to this concern. Mr. Speaker, what about the day of rest also known as Sunday?

Mr. Speaker, I was glad to see that the recommendations of Sunday openings, though, also note a strong support that stakeholders should be consulted through the bylaw process. So I am in extremely strong support of that recommendation because this is a decision that could be made by the city realizing that they truly know what their community is like and how these effects will spill out into the details. Speaking of details, Mr. Speaker, the devil is in the details. I would like to hear more about recommendation 19 which talks about the peace officers and the three-strike rule, or recommendation 22. It says non-beverage liquor. I am not sure if this is forward thinking or creative writing by this liquor review, but I look forward, again, to those details.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the Minister of Finance for bringing forward this work that has been called for by the Accountability and Oversight committee on several occasions. Again, Mr. Speaker, I look forward to reviewing this legislative proposal when it does come before review. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.