Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I, too, would like to share my thoughts on this report that's been tabled in the House, the Cannabis Legalization Regulation and Implementation Act, or Bill 6, which is the effort of this government to legalize marijuana or cannabis. I think we all understood that the draft legislation that we were given was the result of the federal initiative to legalize marijuana at the national level.
Going forward, the understanding that we had, for myself, was that the federal government had initiated this whole process, and we're basically following suit as the territorial government for the Northwest Territories. So, in that exercise, our task was to review the draft legislation, or Bill 6, and consult with the public, which meant that we travelled extensively. I travelled with my colleagues who travelled to the southern communities, and was chaired by my colleague Mr. Shane Thompson. The communities that we travelled into were a majority Indigenous people. Of course, we are challenged with the high rates of social issues, as well, whether it be crime rates or alcohol-related charges or offences, and, of course, we had a mixture of modern and traditional values that continue throughout our communities in the NWT.
I serve four communities, and those four communities are mostly situated on the highway system. We have access to one liquor store. One of my communities that I serve has a prohibition in place, which means that there is no alcohol allowed in the community. The leaders in that community explained why, why they put a place of prohibition in their community. They spoke very clearly and passionately because they care for their people. The young people who were in the audience, and the young people were saying that, well, this is 2018, and that the use of cannabis and marijuana is widely accepted. It is a matter of time that it is going to come into our communities.
The reality is that we already have cannabis and marijuana. It is used in our communities already. The stage was set for us to go into those communities, consult with people, hear people, and, in some instances, it was very passionate. In some instances, we didn't have the interest of people coming out to our meetings. As a result of that, we have this report that we tabled in the House, those recommendations. Key recommendations that are in response to the draft legislation before us, and those key recommendations basically talk about improvements, how this committee feels that we have reflected upon the opinions that we have heard, and the concerns that we have heard from people.
I look forward to those discussions and debate that will likely happen within the House in the next couple of days. Mahsi.