Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to speak to this motion. It truly has been a trying last few months. It has been the most difficult few months for me in this office. I wanted to talk about what has transpired here in the last few days because I am not entirely sure that the public has a good indication of what has been going on in this building.

We do have a process in place to deal with this affirmation, or not, of our confidence in the Premier. It was the will of Caucus that we ask this question on the ballot at the Territorial Leadership Committee. I want to be clear that the genesis for asking this question was not an attempted coup, as has been suggested by some Members in this House. It was an attempt, at least from my perspective, to get the Premier to deal with the conduct of his senior-most staff.

However, a lot has happened since then, Mr. Speaker. Every Member in this House has been heavily lobbied. I think the attendance in the gallery here today can attest to that. I also think people are very interested in something that has been ratcheted up to such a high level of profile.

Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that Members of this House have been characterized as basically lurking in the shadows and engaging in backroom dealings. I do resent how this situation has been portrayed and how it has been played out in front of us in the media. For me, this entire thing has been about upholding principles. Principles that I think are very important and I think that has been lost.

We have to remember that the findings of the committee in the conflict matter uncovered unacceptable conduct by anyone's measure. That is a fact, Mr. Speaker. Action was required and, Mr. Speaker, it seems that as events are unfolding here, even as late as an hour or two ago, the Premier is now taking some action. I applaud him for that. However, we need to send a clear message to the public and to the public service of this government that those who work in this building are not above scrutiny and they are not above sanction from misconduct.

I did have a constituent call me and tell me, "You cannot put conditions on your support for the Premier." Mr. Speaker, I did. I am glad I did and it appears that those conditions are being met. Mr. Handley has asked us here today to stand up and speak in support of this Premier and I am prepared to do that. I have a lot of respect for this man and I think he has done a lot for the Northwest Territories and will continue to do so.

Mr. Speaker, I will reaffirm my position in Wednesday's vote. However, what I do resent is what I perceive as an end run of the process that Caucus had laid out in front of us. The suggestion to me that I am not to be trusted in a secret ballot is something that I resent.

I will be abstaining here today not because I do not have confidence in this Premier -- in fact, I do. I will be abstaining because I resent what has gone on here in the last few days and this attempt to undermine the process that we had agreed to.

I believe and I hope that the Premier will trust me in the secret ballot that I will support him. Thank you.