Agreed. Then we will take a long overdue break.

---SHORT RECESS

I didn't even notice the bills. We left off yesterday on the Liquor Act and we had had the opening comments from the Minister. We're ready to move on to general comments, but I'll ask Minister Roland first if he would like to bring witnesses into the Chamber today.

Yes, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister Roland. Is committee agreed?

Agreed. Thank you. I'll ask the Sergeant-at-Arms, please, if he would escort the witnesses to the table.

I'll ask the Members to consider their general comments. Minister Roland, for the record, could you please introduce your witnesses today. Minister Roland.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, joining me at the table here is the deputy minister for the Department of Finance, Ms. Margaret Melhorn, and to my left is Mr. Joseph LaFerla, director, policy and planning for Finance. Further to my right is Mr. Mark Aitken, director of legislation, Department of Justice. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Minister Roland. General comments, Bill 15, Liquor Act. First I have Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. I didn't hear any question there. Those were truly general comments. Great. Thank you. Next on the list I have Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to lend my support to this bill as I think it's a very well written piece of work. I spoke with a resident of Inuvik who follows this type of stuff very closely and they mentioned that this was very well written and the fact that it was written in the NWT by the NWT and for the NWT is something that I'm quite proud of. It's not something that we've borrowed from somewhere. We put the bill in committee's hands and took the bill out, people spoke to us for the most part, well, I think everyone spoke in favour of the new Liquor Act. There were a couple concerns about stiffer penalties and I think you tried to address those and that's much appreciated because it shows these people that we're not just going out there and going through the motions. We are listening to what they have to say and if they do make reasonable requests, they're usually acted on. People appreciate that and people

remember that. So I want to just commend the department on this piece of work.

One I liked in the opening comments is the recognition that the attitude toward alcohol cannot be legislated and it's everyone's responsibility and something that I've always believed. I think we're getting there. It's been a long, slow process but I think we're getting to the point where a lot of people are taking responsibility for their attitude toward alcohol and it's starting to show. So with that, Madam Chair, I just wanted to lend my support to this bill. I think it's well written and I was glad to be a part of the northern group that took this out and listened to what people had to say. We heard them and they appreciate that and we appreciate that. I look forward to seeing this come into play. Helping the communities make decisions regarding alcohol, I think, is a huge step. Communities are always saying we want the power to do this, we want the authority to do that; now we've given them that authority and I think they will use that wisely. So, Madam Chair, those are my general comments. No questions, just my support to the bill and the work that went into it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Any further general comments? Okay. Detail it is; 144 clauses of detail. Okay. Clause 1.

Licences and permits, clause 2.

Clause 3.

Clause 4.

Clause 5.

Clause 6.

Clause 7.