Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court of Canada's decision legitimizing drunkenness as a defence has inevitably come to slap us here in the Northwest Territories. When Minister Allan Rock was here in the fall, I remember asking him, in a Caucus meeting, what the implications would be for the Northwest Territories. He said two things, at that time. He said that the Supreme Court decision was so precisely worded that it would be only

used in the rarest case. He also said that he would look at bringing in legislation to deal with the whole issue.

Now it seems that the legal experts who advise them were wrong again. It seems to be used more and more frequently. Here in the Northwest Territories where alcohol and drug abuse are major social problems, the implications of this Supreme Court decision are immense. Minister Rock, this week, is introducing a bill -- today, I think, in the House -- where he is going to address the problem.. Time will only tell, during the next two or three days, if the bill goes far enough. Already some of the preliminary responses of women's group are that it hasn't gone far enough.

But for here in the territories, the reality has hit home. Violent drunks now have the opportunity to justify their actions in the Northwest Territories. This is unacceptable to all of us. In light of the fact that we now have our first case here in the territories, I think that it is imperative that our Justice Minister re-emphasize our government's opposition to the Supreme Court decision and that our Justice Minister does everything in his power to ensure that Mr. Rock's legislation is an adequate response to the decision. If, in the opinion of the government and this Legislative Assembly, the Justice Minister's legislation is not an adequate response, then I, along with others, will be asking for our Justice Minister to suggest amendments to that legislation. Thank you very much.