Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the opportunity to introduce Bill: Western Canada Lottery Act.
The Western Canada Lottery program is managed and conducted by the Concern Canada Lottery Corporation on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Since 2009, the Sport and Recreation Council has had an agreement with the Western Canada Lottery Corporation and the Government of the Northwest Territories to conduct and manage the lottery within the Northwest Territories and to remit lottery proceeds to the Government of the Northwest Territories to be used for the purposes of sport and recreation within the territory.
In 2014, the Canada Revenue Agency provided an interpretation to the Department of Finance indicating that the proceeds of the lottery may be subject to taxation in its current format. A decision was therefore made to bring the operation of the lottery within the Government of the Northwest Territories as soon as possible.
Bill 1 achieves the goal of bringing lottery operations in-house and protecting them from possible taxation so that they remain available for programs in the Northwest Territories. The bill creates the Northwest Territories Lottery Commission within the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. The commission will be composed of Municipal and Community Affairs employees and will fulfill the role currently filled by the Sport and Recreation Council.
Together with the Western Canada Lottery Corporation, the commission will mark it and distribute Western Canada Lottery tickets and will regulate and control retailers of Western Canada Lottery tickets. The commission will also enter into agreement with the Government of Nunavut to conduct and manage the Western Canada Lottery within Nunavut. The commission will report to the Legislative Assembly as required under the planning and accountability framework.
The bill also creates the Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation Fund to handle the proceeds of the lottery. The fund is a special purchase fund the Financial Administration Act and will be held in an account forming part of the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The creation of a special purpose fund rather than a revolving fund will ensure that all lottery revenues remain available for sport and recreation and are not considered general revenue.
In order to account for fluctuating lottery revenues within a given year, the bill allows the Minister to take the fund into a deficit or a surplus position, ensuring that funding commitments can be met on a consistent and timely basis. Limits on any accumulating deficit and surplus will be set by the Financial Management Board. The Minister will table an annual report of the fund, which outline payments paid into the fund, amounts dispersed from the fund, and the balance of the fund.
The bill empowers the Minister to disperse money from the fund for the purposes set out in the bill, all related to the advancement of sport and recreation within the Northwest Territories and in accordance with any agreement with the Government of Nunavut.
Municipal and Community Affairs has consulted with the Department of Finance on the development of the bill and continues to work with the Department of Finance and the Department of Human Resources on the task of transitioning the operation of the lottery into government. Municipal and Community Affairs is also appreciative of the time that the standing committee on government operations took in reviewing the bill and proposing amendments.
Municipal and Community Affairs hopes to bring the bill into force in the summer of 2018. I would be pleased to answer any questions Members may have. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.