Mr. Speaker, within the Government of the Northwest Territories the Department of Justice is the lead department on the NWT Working Group, which includes the Department of Health and Social Services, Finance and Transportation. There are a number of departments that are involved in figuring out the GNWT's response to legalization of marijuana. The federal, provincial and territorial governments have actually formed an interdepartmental working group and the GNWT has two members, one from the Department of Justice and one from the Department of Health, on that intergovernmental working group.
Mr. Speaker, we are paying close attention to what the federal government is doing; we're getting briefings from them at every opportunity when they offer to present them. From the Department of Health and Social Services’ perspective, we understand that there's a desire to legalize marijuana here in this country. Moving forward, we're just trying to make sure that the federal government is aware and is working to ensure that residents in Canada, including the Northwest Territories, remain safe; that marijuana stays out of the hands of children; that appropriate resources will be available to educate people on the harms of smoking marijuana; and that individuals who have been authorized by their health practitioners to utilize marijuana still maintain safe access.
Mr. Speaker, when the federal government did their initial call, I sent a letter to Minister Philpott indicating our willingness to work with them obviously but encouraging them to seriously support the provinces and territories, preferably with financial resources, to get out in front and do some public awareness on the harms of smoking marijuana. Smoking a carbon-based product whether it's marijuana or cigarettes isn't good for you; we need to make sure that the public are aware.