Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. For this reason, the people of Yellowknife deserve to know that what they read in the newspaper is reported on fairly, objectively, and accurately. They also deserve to know that the paper cannot be used as an indiscriminate weapon.
Nick Russell, in a leading textbook on morals and the media in Canada, points out that freedom of the press continues to be earned or lost, depending on performance, and it brings with it clear responsibilities of stewardship. What does this mean in practical terms for the editorial staff at the Yellowknifer? Mr. Russell thinks it means that newspaper publishers who are, after all, only in the business to make money, do not own freedom of the press, the people do. Despite what the editors may think, the Yellowknifer does not have some kind of license allowing it to systematically and vindictively destroy someone's perception in the community. Our own Legislative Assembly agrees with Mr. Russell and has seen fit to protect members of the public from this type of behaviour by passing the Defamation Act. Under the act, a newspaper can be sued for publishing statements about a person, which are designed to harm their reputation, rather than simply reporting on the facts.
For example, a few years ago, a Hay River businessman successfully sued the local newspaper for publishing a defamatory cartoon about him. The court said that the suggestions were made by the paper about the businessman's character that were not fair comments and were intended to make people in the community ridicule him.
Judging from the conveniently anonymous editorial comment published in the Yellowknifer on Friday, July 17, 1998, July 31, 1998, August 7, 1998, May 7, 1999, and finally August 27, 1999, the editors seem to have embarked on a self-appointed mission to portray me as a shameless profiteer in the eyes of the people of Yellowknife.
The fact is that the business of which I am a part owner strengthens the economic well-being of this community and of the Territories and employs upward of 100 people in entry level positions and is a viable part of the Yellowknife business community, and I contribute to the tax base of this city.
In the editorial comment published on Friday, August 27, 1997, the editorial suggested that all MLAs who own their own business should place them in blind trusts. As an ordinary MLA, this requirement is duly unrestrictive and will discourage some business people from entering the public arena. In my view, a Legislative Assembly that does not have the opportunity to hear from and benefit from the expertise of the North's business people will suffer a loss. Along with the rights to speak freely, citizens of this country also enjoy the right of free enterprise. This is one of the reasons Canadians enjoy such a high standard of living.
Mr. Speaker, in 1981, the Kent Commission on newspapers realized the kind of impact a newspaper such as the Yellowknifer can have on individuals who fall out of its good graces when it said, "In a one-newspaper town, it means nothing except the right of a proprietor to do what he will with his own...freedom of the press." The commission concluded that sometimes the practical reality in a one-newspaper town is that because "enormous influence without responsibility is conferred on a handful of people...(its) over-riding responsibility is to the society which protects and provides its freedom." Is the Yellowknifer living up to its responsibility to the people of Yellowknife by writing with a poisoned pen, shrouded in the anonymity of an editorial?
I am out and about in this community as an MLA, as a business person, a volunteer, a church member, and a parent. I, too, see and hear what people in this community have to say. What I do not understand is why Mr. Valpy, and I wonder how he can say that you are reflecting the views of the community. I went and visited this gentleman in his office regarding one of the editorials and was very surprised to see that I had never seen the gentleman before, and I have lived here for 23 years. I had thought I would surely recognize him considering his position in the community which apparently represents the views. I have never seem him at public meetings, I have never seen him within the business community, I have never seem him in my children's school, I have never seen him anywhere. So then I ask, where do you get your worldly perspective from? Where are you that you hear all these opinions and have all these people, why not have them put their views in writing or bring them to me directly?
Another author, J.L. Hulteng, warns newspapers against abusing their right to freedom of the press in his book, "Playing it Straight: A Practical Discussion of the Ethical Principles of the American Society of Newspaper Editors". In it he wrote, "To prevent further erosion, editors and reporters should refrain from excessive or unjustified appeals to public opinion . A knee-jerk invocation of press freedom every time some public official or special interest representative criticizes the performance of the press will only harm the cause. Cry "Wolf" only when a genuine predator is on the prowl." This is something which the lampoonists at the Yellowknife should keep in mind.
In closing, I wish to remind the editorial staff of the Yellowknifer to heed the ethics of their own profession. Like public officials, they too owe a duty of fairness and stewardship to the public they sever, lest they offend the very principles for which freedom of the press was enshrined in the Charter in the first place. And before calling anyone a profiteer, they should take a good, long look in the mirror.
Mr. Speaker, I have not yet come to a decision as to whether I will allow my name to stand as a candidate in the December election. I will reserve that judgement for the next couple of week. I would like to sincerely thank my fellow colleagues for allowing me to continue with my statement, and I thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--Applause