Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to, first of all, thank my colleague from Inuvik Twin Lakes for having the courage to bring this motion forward and for standing by and having the courage of his convictions through this entire discussion. I would also like to thank my colleague Sandy Lee, from Range Lake, for seconding this motion and getting this topic onto the floor of the House today.
I would also like to thank people like Ms. Arlene Hache who has been in the visitors' gallery and has been a tireless advocate on behalf of victims and the fallout from the ravages of sexual abuse here in the Northwest Territories, and who works with victims and with families to try to bring about healing. I would like to recognize her today and thank her as well.
Mr. Speaker, to the motion, I think it is good we are having their airing of this issue here today. With respect to the Premier's comments, the Premier has apologized and many Members have said here today that they accept that. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, there is a power to our words. There was a little theme lesson or illustration that was given to some children recently at Sunday School who went out on a particularly windy day a couple of weeks ago in Yellowknife and took a handful of seeds into the wind and let those seeds go. The teacher said if those were your words, can you go back and find those seeds and can you pick them up, gather them up and bring them all back to us? Unfortunately, the power of our words are very strong and sometimes the hurt and the damage that they cause, it's not possible to go out and necessarily gather those words back and retract them the way we would like to.
So this incident and these words have shaken my confidence in the Premier. I have stated publicly in this House before, and to him personally, that I have supported him as the Premier of our government and I would not be truthful today if I did not tell you that what has happened here has shaken my confidence. It's difficult to say that, because we work in a very small, collegial kind of setting around here and it's a very sensitive issue.
I guess also the words that were uttered were really an offence in the public domain. It's not mine to forgive. What is mine, though, is the responsibility to uphold the highest standard of the word and the thoughts and the ideals and the positions taken by this government and by the leaders who are in this government.
So, Mr. Speaker, today I don't pretend to fully comprehend what the victims of abuse have suffered. I made a Member's statement earlier today on some of the ramifications of sexual abuse that had such a tremendous impact on the people of the Northwest Territories. I mentioned that in my Member's statement today and I am not going to go over that again.
Mr. Speaker, by this motion here in the House today, I think that I would like to see this motion be a public declaration that for those who have suffered abuse at the hands of perpetrators and sexual predators, that there is hope. Evil will always thrive when good men say nothing, but what we are saying today in this House is there is hope, there is justice, there is healing and there is vindication. To those people who have suffered, we, through this motion today, are standing with you. We support you. We encourage you and we want this government to demonstrate, through tangible means, support for those who have been the victims of sexual assault.
Mr. Speaker, for myself, I am sorry. I am sorry for what has happened to people. I am sorry that good intentions of people to educate and intervene in the lives of other people turned so wrong. I am sorry for the children who were taken away from that natural protection and natural authority of their parents and put into the hands and care of people who abused that trust. As a mother, I can tell you there is something that when you think about a child being harmed, there is an emotion that rises up, and I am sure for fathers too, that brings out a protectiveness. I am sorry that no one was there for those children who were taken advantage of and whose lives were so devastated by what happened to them.
Mr. Speaker, I think there is a special place and punishment for people who would hurt a small child. I saw a reference to a bible verse today in Matthew that says that for someone who would hurt a child, it would be better that a millstone was tied around their neck and they were tossed into the sea. These kinds of crimes that were committed against children are of the worst kind.
I just hope, as I said earlier, that people will find peace and healing. I will be supporting the motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause