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 Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Time for oral questions has expired. Item 8, written questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

The Executive's 2030 Energy Strategy and a Climate Change Strategic Framework relies heavily upon greenhouse gas reductions, supposedly resulting from a major expansion of the Taltson hydro-electric system.

Could the Minister describe the phases of the Taltson hydro-electric expansion set out in the 2030 Energy Strategy, including the following:

  1. Identify the timeframes of construction, how each phase of construction will be financed, and to whom will the energy be sold;
  2. Power to be generated and whether any impoundment and/or flooding will occur;
  3. Greenhouse gas reductions anticipated for each of the phases and in which jurisdictions those reductions will take place; and
  4. Anticipated costs for each phase, including a breakdown of hydro facilities, power lines, and related infrastructure, including roads. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to Commissioner's opening address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Aurora College Foundational Review." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Tabling of documents. Government House Leader.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "2017-2018 Annual Report on Implementation of the Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Business Development and Investment Corporation NWT 2018-19 Corporate Plan." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation.

Louis Sebert

Louis Sebert Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "2018-19 Corporate Plan - Northwest Territories Hydro Corporation and Northwest Territories Power Corporation." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Tabling of documents. Item 15, notices of motion. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, June 1, 2018, I will move the following motion:

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on June 1, 2018, it shall be adjourned until Thursday, October 11, 2018;

AND FURTHER, that at any time prior to October 11, 2018, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Notices of motion. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. Minister of Finance.

Louis Sebert

Louis Sebert Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act, be read for the second time. This bill amends the Revolving Funds Act to increase the authorized limit of the Liquor Revolving Fund. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Question has been called. The motion is carried. Bill 19 has had its second reading. It is now referred to standing committee. Minister of Finance.

Louis Sebert

Louis Sebert Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 74(2) and have Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act, moved into Committee of the Whole for today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Unanimous consent granted

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds, is moved into Committee of the Whole for today. Masi. Second reading of bills. Item 19, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bill 6, Cannabis Legalization and Regulations Implementation Act; Committee Report 7-18(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations and Standing Committee on Social Development Report on the Review of Bill 6: Cannabis Legalization and Regulations Implementation Act; Minister's Statement 1-18(3), North Slave Correctional Complex Inmate Concerns; Minister's Statement 19-18(3), Aurora College Foundational Review Process; and Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act.

By the authority given to me as Speaker by Motion 7-18(3), I hereby authorize the House to sit beyond the daily hour of adjournment to consider the business before the House, with the Member for Hay River North in the chair.

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

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The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Beaulieu.

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Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chairman, committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 7-18(3), Report on the Review of Bill 6: Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Implementation Act. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Does committee agree?

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

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The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, committee. I am sure most Members have a copy of the report, which was read into the House yesterday. The way that these are dealt with, just for those people who are watching at home, is that there are recommendations in the report that are moved as motions, and there is discussion surrounding those.

The report is Committee Report 7-18(3), Report on the Review of Bill 6: Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Implementation Act. I will turn to the chair of the standing committee which authored the report for opening comments. Since this was a joint committee, there are two chairs. I believe both will be making comments. First, I will go to the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, Mr. Testart.

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Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for the opportunity to provide opening comments.

Bill 6 is the product of the Government of the Northwest Territories' efforts to develop a legal cannabis regulatory system with the coming legalization of the substance through action taken by the Government of Canada. One thing that was very clear from the onset is that there was some hesitation, and not just from the executive council, but also from the honourable Members on this side of the House, towards how this initiative would roll out and how best to craft a legal system for cannabis in the Northwest Territories.

Given the significance of this issue and that it represents a fundamental shift in how we have dealt with cannabis in our society, not just here, but in every province and territory in Canada, the standing committees decided to work together and adopted a formal motion to adopt this unique process where we could combine two committees together. We actually had representation from 10 out of the 11 Regular Members and were able to work together and provide the expertise that we all have, based on the uniqueness of our ridings and our own expertise as Members of this House.

The committees then undertook to do the most extensive consultations that we have undertaken to date in this Assembly, and to do that effectively, we split into two groups. One group went to the northern regions of the territory, Sahtu and the Beaufort Delta, and the other went to the southern territory.

I was chair of the group that went to the north. My honourable friend from Nahendeh was the chair on the southern group, and I will allow him to speak to his experiences there, but one thing that we found in the north was that cannabis is not a foreign substance. It is very much alive and well in every community.

Whilst we were in Ulukhaktok, which is one of our most far-flung and isolated communities, one young person said that he believed that 80 per cent of the community was actively consuming cannabis, which is a shocking statistic. That just goes to the significance of what we are trying to accomplish here through this legislation, and that is to address a system that doesn't appear to be working, and that is the system of prohibition.

Well, we heard the concerns that "should government really be getting in the business of legalizing a drug, a narcotic, for consumption in our communities when we have such dire problems with addictions that we are all very much aware of?" I think the committee took those concerns to heart, but ultimately, if we are thinking whether what we have been doing, which is prohibition, has been effective, we know from our first-hand consultations that it is not effective, that cannabis is getting into our communities, and it is being widely abused by young people and by adults. It doesn't matter the size of the community or the remoteness of the community. This is a substance that is very much part of our communities, and government now has an opportunity to take a different approach to dealing with it.

That being said, there is a wide degree of variation in the communities we spoke to in how they wanted cannabis to be managed in their communities. It ran the full gamut from "let's open a cannabis store and have the revenues come to our local government" to "let's ban it altogether because we don't want it here."

It was particularly rewarding to speak to young people. In some of the communities, the young people didn't say very much, but they did attend, and they would speak privately with committee members. Hearing their expertise on the subject, again, just shows how real it is for our communities. Young people in particular understand this drug and have a great deal of experience with it, which is exactly why we need to address it with a legal framework that seeks to curb the abuse of the substance by young people, as there is significant evidence to show that the health effects can be concerning for those under the age of 25.

All in all, I believe that the committees did their due diligence and not only researched the issues extensively, but combined that research with their own personal expertise and extensive public consultations in 16 of our communities and six of our schools. That leads me to believe that the improvements that the committee has proposed to the bill that are contained within this report come from a place of good credibility, and they are not kind of offside opinions that Members are bringing forward that are not representative of the people we serve. They are very much near and dear to the hearts and minds of Northerners and to communities across our great territory.

Now, this report contains several recommendations that address the policy issues. As much as people wanted the legislation to reflect the unique needs of their community, we found, time and time again, more of the issues that came up were around resourcing a legal cannabis regime. Who is going to enforce it?

We were in Tuktoyaktuk, which is one of the communities we visited. The community told us, "Well, we haven't had a bylaw officer in a decade or more. How are we going to enforce any bylaws we put in place or any restrictions we put in place at the community level?"

We heard concerns around public smoking. Who do we turn to? Are environmental health officers, which is something the government has proposed, really enough to manage the smoking prohibitions?

For the Motor Vehicle Act amendments that have zero tolerance for impaired driving, who is going to enforce those? What we understood at the time of our consultations was that the RCMP would be integral to that effort, and drug recognition experts would be required to ascertain impairment, but there are only two of those currently located in G division, which is the RCMP regiment that polices the Northwest Territories.

These were the kinds of concerns around spending, and also, any revenues that are raised by government vis-a-vis the sale and taxation of cannabis, where do those revenues go? That was a question we were asked often, and although we didn't have the answer then, the suggestion that we received is that it should go back to the communities. It should go back to public health. It should go to public health research, and that, too, was an opinion that was widely shared across the Northwest Territories.

The substance of what we are debating today is largely those policy issues that were outside of the legislation, but, nonetheless, of crucial importance to Northerners, and I look forward to having the debate on the floor in these Committee of the Whole proceedings. I am sure my honourable friends on both sides of the House will have plenty to say, and I look forward to the successful adoption of our recommendations because, again, they come from a place of sincerity and a place of good evidence and solid engagement with the people whom we serve. Thank you, Mr. Chair.