Well, I appreciate your ruling, Mr. Speaker, because the Member's question is difficult to answer for that reason. I hope the Member will also appreciate that in the present legal system in the NWT, judges are independent from the Executive or the Legislative branch of our government. They do not report to me. They are not accountable to me, as Minister of Justice, for their decisions, nor do the Crown prosecutors report to me.
Mr. Speaker, with the greatest of respect to the honourable Member, and while I do respect the honourable Member's freedom to express his opinions on his case, it is difficult for me, as Minister of Justice, to make a comment on a judgment because it could be interpreted as threatening the independence of the judiciary. That principle has been used to challenge some decisions made by territorial judges. So as Minister of Justice, I hope the honourable Member will appreciate that you are putting me in a difficult position by asking me to comment on a judgment in a particular case, although I do respect the Member's right to speak on this matter as he sees fit.