Thank you, Mr. Chair. The laws of supply and demand have a particular relevance to illicit substances such as cannabis, or any drug for that matter. Narcotics are easy to produce, especially cannabis. It is a weed; it grows just about anywhere. It is easy to produce, and the price point of cannabis is, in fact, created largely by its illegal status, which has fuelled the profitability for organized crime and low-level dealers to make a living off the sale of illicit cannabis.

To deal with that market, because clearly the demand in the Northwest Territories is very high, as it is across the country, the correct way to disable this market and this illicit trade of cannabis is to control the prices and make it preferable to purchase a regulated source of cannabis for recreational use outside black market channels. The only way that we are going to get there is if we can ensure that the price point is low enough that we can keep the prices down.

Recent economic analysis, which isn't complete because the consumption of cannabis is largely underground, shows that price point as somewhere around $7.50 on grey market and black market sales. The proposed rule in Canada is at least a starting point of $10 per gram. Yukon, our neighbours, have announced that it will be $8 per gram. Our government has not announced anything yet, and my fear is that the wholesale price for cannabis will come in much higher than we can effectively make the price affordable and accessible, and we will continue to see people go to their drug dealers for cannabis.

Economic analysis also shows that there is a lot of price sensitivity toward cannabis from chronic users. As much as a dollar in price difference will keep people from buying legal cannabis. Price controls are crucial. If we are relying on southern wholesalers, which appears to be the case, I am skeptical that we will get the best possible deal, just because our market is so small compared to Alberta, compared to British Columbia, compared to Ontario. If we can't effectively control the wholesale price, then we can't pass that off to consumers without massive subsidies, which this government, quite frankly, can't afford or is not going to prioritize.

How do we get around this? Well, we privatize as much of the components of the retail system and the production system as possible. Production is regulated by the federal government, but that doesn't mean our government can't provide support and be an agent and advocate for people with licences in the Northwest Territories who want to grow and supply our retail market. If the supply chain is short enough to be located in the Northwest Territories, I think we can at least offset some of those costs and keep the wholesale price low, which will, in turn, keep the retail price low, which will get cannabis off the streets and into the regulated market. If we do nothing and the wholesale price remains too high, then nothing is going to change, and that is the worst-case scenario, so we need to do more.

In addition to it being about entrepreneurs and about supporting entrepreneurs who are willing to take a risk, this is about achieving our public safety goals, about ending prohibition and developing a system that works and that works to keep our people safe. It is not going to be easy. It is going to mean taking some risks and a government that is willing to take risks and bet on Northerners. I encourage this government to do exactly that.

Finally, anyone who wants to be either a retailer of cannabis or a producer of cannabis is going to have to take a risk because the market is untested. Right now, people who are looking to do that across this country are being advised to talk to hedge fund managers and investment analysts because there are risks involved, but people are still willing to take these risks. I know that there are people in this community who have licenses from Health Canada to grow cannabis. They are federally licensed to produce medical marijuana. Those people are willing to step up to the plate and get involved in the production here in the North if the government is willing to take them up on that offer and support their ambitions.

I hope that the government will take this motion seriously, that they won't wait until 120 days later to say, "We thought about it, but we're not going to do it," but take this seriously because the benefits to the public are going to be a lower price point for wholesale cannabis, which will be a lower price point for retail cannabis, which will take it off of the streets, out of the black market, and into the regulated market, which is exactly what we are trying to do. Thank you, Mr. Chair.