Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I want to join my colleagues in speaking about alcohol and its impact on the lives of residents here in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, as a government, we've had much discussion surrounding alcohol and other addictions
and the services we provide to residents. Mr. Speaker, we have to do more.
The common denominator in family breakdown, family violence, violent crime and the segue into other addictions is alcohol. As a society, we have normalized the consumption of alcoholic beverages to the point where much of our leisure type of activity involves alcohol to one degree or another. If we were concerned about portraying a positive message to the children and youth of the Northwest Territories, we must look at ways in which we can denormalize the consumption of alcohol.
The GNWT and the Department of Health has had a very successful campaign in the Don't Be a Butthead program. We have enacted tough laws dealing with the sale and distribution of cigarettes and we need to examine how we are going to legislate alcohol. Mr. Speaker, the government is finally getting around to the introduction of the much anticipated new Liquor Act.