This is page numbers 4059 - 4102 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 3rd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was cannabis.

Topics

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you. To the motion. Mr. McNeely.

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Speaking to this motion here, when I'm talking about the Sahtu land claim, there are elements in the land claim which already exist on an intergovernmental working relationship to achieve these types of concerning issues there for the existing claim corporation which allows for program delivery. In my view, the element towards leading to this already exists. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. McNeely. To the motion. I will allow the mover of the motion to close debate. Mr. Thompson.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wish to have a recorded vote. Thank you.

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you. The Member has requested a recorded vote. All those in favour, please rise.

Recorded Vote
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Deputy Clerk Of The House Ms. Kay

The Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member for Nunakput, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for Yellowknife North, the Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Recorded Vote
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The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.

Recorded Vote
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Deputy Clerk Of The House Ms. Kay

The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, the Member for Thebacha, the Member for Sahtu.

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The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you. The results of the recorded vote are: nine in favour, zero opposed, seven abstentions.

---Carried

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The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Mr. Testart.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommend that the Government of the Northwest Territories work with the Government of Canada and other government partners to resolve outstanding questions on record suspensions for offences related to cannabis possession. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Testart. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Testart.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chair. One of the issues that was raised quite frequently in the communities was the issue of young people getting charged with cannabis possession charges, and having it serve as a barrier for future employment, for travel, and that the prohibition system has largely set many of our young people out to fail. With the changes made to the record suspension system by the previous federal government, record suspensions are much more time consuming and expensive. It is difficult for everyday citizens who are suffering from relatively minor offences such as cannabis possession to access a record suspension that might allow them access to greater employment opportunities.

With the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in our correctional system, in our justice system, this issue hits very close to home. As a result, it is limiting the futures of many young people. However, the record suspension system is administered by the federal government, and this government does not have the ability to directly speak to it.

Rather than being prescriptive on how the government approaches these issues, the committees wanted to raise this in a meaningful way that allowed the government to find their own solutions while working with the Government of Canada, and potentially other provinces and territories and Indigenous governments, to ultimately find ways to relieve Northerners of the burden of a cannabis possession record that might be limiting their ability to work at the mines, to work for the government, or any other kind of work, or to travel abroad.

I encourage my colleagues to support this motion so we can work together to find ways to help people who are unduly burdened by low-level criminal records that will be irrelevant after cannabis becomes a legal product moving forward. At the appropriate time, I would like a recorded vote. Thank you.

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Beaulieu, to the motion.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, this is a complex area, and considering we are talking about, I suppose it's the Criminal Code of Canada, and that it would take some doing. That is the reason we are calling for this government to work with the federal government. It is certainly not a simple procedure. It is not a simple procedure, like I said. It will involve more than just a criminal record of an individual who could have a charge or two for possession of marijuana, but then, it's quite possible that individuals have other criminal records. We really have to clearly define which record it is that would be worth a suspension that currently is preventing individuals from obtaining employment.

This is a very focused type of recommendation, and it focuses in on individuals who have one particular type of criminal record, and that being simple possession of marijuana, or other products, cannabis products. It is something that we certainly had a considerable amount of discussion on, and I think it's worthy of an examination for sure by both governments. We're asking our government to work with the federal government to work with those, to remove those barriers for, otherwise, individuals who would be good employees, and who could have a pretty positive impact on our economy.

Many people I know who go through the system, and we have allowed, like income support, for example, have indicated to us that they would pay to have a criminal record suspended for individuals who want to look for work because, in order to get your records suspended, you have to have meet a certain criteria. There's a time period in which you can't be charged. There is a certain type of charge that you can't get suspended. All of those factors are involved when an individual is looking for work, so this is not really a simple -- it's a recommendation, but it's not a simple work. It is a lot of work. The only way that this committee could think of getting this work done is by asking our government, GNWT, to work with the federal government to look into the records. We're thinking that it may not be a high number. Although complex, it may not be a very high number, but it could be very valuable to people who would get their records suspended through this process. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. To the motion. Mr. Blake.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know it came up in the communities, and it was made quite clear to us that we couldn't go back years, say a couple of years back, if somebody got charged for possession while driving or something. It made it quite clear that this starts from July 1st onwards, so I'm going to make that clear. I don't see why everybody can't support this one. As I mentioned, it came up in the communities. It wasn't quite clear how we will move forward, so I guess some work needs to be done with the federal government on how they're going to move forward on this. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Mr. Nakimayak.

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have some friends who also asked about this. As the previous speaker said, this is something new going in. This is something that maybe should be looked at during a time of a review. I think right now, it would be so costly and so many things in the air that we would kind of be making false promises to people who don't understand as much, possibly.

I know a lot of people who wanted to travel to the States but are prohibited because of marijuana at the border. I think we may become flooded if something like this happens, and people may be flooding from provinces to come to the territory and drain the legal system for something as simple as this. I think a time of review would be more of an adequate time to look at something like this. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you. To the motion. Mr. McNeely.

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, too, brought this up in one of the communities, or several of the communities, in trying to educate the students. We want them to take it seriously, to have a clean abstract before entering into the workforce, and to maintain that, I see this motion supporting that, to do more consultation to have it in plain English straightforward on what it is going to take to have an offence on your abstract. Thank you.

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. McNeely. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Question has been called. The Member has requested a recorded vote. All those in favour, please rise.

Recorded Vote
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Committee Clerk Of The House Ms. Franki-Smith

The Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, the Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for Sahtu, and the Member for Yellowknife North.