Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to bring to the Legislative Assembly a concern that has bothered me for some time. During my campaign visit to Cambridge Bay I was visiting people door-to-door. On the Saturday afternoon I was stopped on the road by a high-ranking civil servant of this government. He stopped his vehicle and asked me how my campaign was going. I replied, "Better than I expected." He replied, "You mean to say these lunatics are letting you into their homes?"

Mr. Speaker, I hope this is not the prevailing attitude of our senior civil servants, about the people they are paid to serve. I have more incidents of this nature, but I am not about to let these things go because this guy is a senior high-ranking paid official. In my opinion he did not have the right to call the people that I am about to represent, "lunatics." If we are called lunatics, he should have looked in his truck beside him -- you know what I mean.

---Laughter

But before I could reply, he took off.

I must apologize to the House that recently I was a drunk, but I quit hiding in self-pity and I had the courage to change and now look where I am.

---Applause

Just six months ago I was a drunk in the streets here but then I said to the Lord that I needed strength somehow, and by golly I never thought I would come this far.

---Applause