Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, too, want to thank the work of my colleagues on the Standing Committee of Government Operations and the Standing Committee on Social Development.

This was no easy task, and throughout the whole review period the committee was charged with the review of this bill. We had many developments hanging over us. Most importantly, the federal legislation that will legalize cannabis. I want to be clear that this legislation, Bill 6, is not the key to legalizing cannabis. Changes to the Criminal Code are, and that is the sole jurisdiction of the federal government.

During our review period, developments in the Senate called for a delay in implementation of the legislation. Many Members on the committee heard firsthand that we should be waiting. We shouldn't be rushing into this. I want to commend the dedication and the courage of committee Members to embrace this legislation and do the best job they can with it. As my honourable friend from Nahendeh just said, he is not in favour of cannabis legalization, and that is not an uncommon position in this House; however, the federal initiative and the momentum behind legal cannabis is to a degree where it's not stopping, and we have to see it through to the end, and we need to design rules and laws that suit the needs of our people. I feel that the work of the standing committee has done that.

Our recommendations and our efforts to improve the bill were made, not just from the community consultations, which are crucial at times like these when we are making changes to the fundamental nature of our society, but they also come from well-researched positions, and an extensive amount of research from our own research bureau that supports our committee work, and further, the individual priorities of Members.

Fundamentally, as much as people are concerned, and we've heard this loud and clear, about addictions in the Northwest Territories and the overwhelming social crisis that they represent, the prohibition of cannabis has failed. It has failed to keep communities safe. It has failed to keep cannabis out of the hands of kids. Nearly every community we went to, there was a witness who talked about the prevalence of cannabis in the community. It didn't matter if it was a small, isolated, rural, remote community, or the City of Yellowknife, cannabis is here in our communities. It is here today. Neither this legislation, nor the federal legislation that enables it, is introducing cannabis into the 33 communities in the Northwest Territories. It is already here, and we need a better system to deal with it.

What we have endeavoured to do, working together, is to build that system, and build it in a way that reflects the priorities of Northerners. This bill is very flexible, Mr. Chair. This bill, if passed, will allow for communities to determine their own rules for cannabis through a plebiscite process. It is very flexible towards possession limits, and it ensures the public safety by placing zero tolerance on impaired driving, which is a number one concern of people that we heard loud and clear.

I do share my colleagues' concerns around what will happen as we continue on these proceedings. The standing committees worked diligently together, and the support we received was consensus-based and reflective of the viewpoints of all of our ridings. Ten Members of this House served on that committee and worked together to produce the report. At the end of the day, I hope that we all can stand up, those same 10 Members can stand up, and support the motions that are brought forward, and we can ultimately complete our work of improving this bill.

The outstanding issues that will be brought forward on the floor of the House today that will seek to improve the bill, the amendments that will be brought forward by Members here, are crucially important to the people that we serve. They are supported by the consultations, they are supported by medical and scientific evidence, and they also support the intentions of this bill, which is to keep our community safe, to disrupt the black market, to fight against bootleggers and drug dealers, and to keep cannabis out of the hands of our kids.

I encourage everyone to let their viewpoints be known today, but also to reflect on the tremendous amount of work that the joint committee did on this bill and to work together once again to ensure that we can complete our work and improve this bill before it receives third reading. Thank you.