Thank you, Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and honourable Members. Most of you are aware, through the media, of an incident which happened to me on December 24th of last year when I was the victim of violence in trying to stop a fight. This incident happened between 11:00 am and 12:00 noon. Mr. Speaker, I feel I was victimized twice: Once by the offender; and, once by our government when I was asked to step down from my Cabinet post by our Premier.
Mr. Speaker, I am making this statement not in haste but with the concern I have in the way in which our Premier has exercised her authority in dismissing her Cabinet Ministers in the past. It has not been consistent, nor in line with parliamentary procedures, nor in the tradition of this government. Other jurisdictions have procedures in place that, over time, have been tried and tested.
Mr. Speaker, what I would like to say to my colleagues, the citizens of the NWT, and especially my constituents is this: After the incident on the 24th of December, upon my return to Yellowknife on December 27th, I informed our Premier in detail of the incident, whereby she advised me to get in touch with the Cabinet deputy minister. Again, I told him in detail about the incident. I was assured not to worry, although I did indicate that if the press got a hold of it, they would make more of it than what it was.
Mr. Speaker, this was on December 27th. It wasn't until January 10th, when news of the incident came out through CBC, that I heard concerns from our Premier. Mr. Speaker, there was an investigation done on events surrounding the incident and the results...