Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to speak briefly to this motion. The motion itself deals with two related but separate issues. The first issue is the censure of me for unfortunate and inappropriate comments that I made to the media last month. The second purpose of the motion is an issue that I believe is fully supported, in fact I know it's fully supported by all Members of this House, and that is to support victims of sexual abuse.
It's unusual to have two such issues put together in the same motion, so I am going to speak to the two parts of the motion separately. First I want to speak to the motion censure and my comments to the media that resulted in that part of the motion. I have addressed this issue previously to Caucus and in a public statement and response to questions in the House at the beginning of the session. Mr. Speaker, I will say again, I am genuinely sorry for the remarks I made. They don't represent my views. It was clear that I should not have spoken about this issue nor should I have said what I said. It was a fundamental error of judgment and, as an experienced politician, I should have known better.
Mostly, Mr. Speaker, I deeply regret the pain that my comments have caused others. It was not my intention to denigrate or dismiss the suffering of people who have been abused sexually or otherwise. I assure you that I will be much more thoughtful in the future before I speak on matters such as this.
Mr. Speaker, my Cabinet colleagues accepted my apology and I am prepared to move. Mr. Speaker, I hope the victims of sexual abuse and all people of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut accept my apology. Mr. Speaker, I also hope that the honourable Members on the other side of the House accept my apology. I would also like to believe that my record of public service to the people of the Northwest Territories over the past 20-plus years, including seven years in this House and the rest of the time in the public service, are taken into account.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to speak to the second part of the motion which is intended to support victims of sexual abuse and make recommendations to strengthen the policies and programs we have in place to support these victims. I, along with Members of Cabinet, strongly support this part of the motion, but Cabinet will not be voting on this motion because part of the motion constitutes recommendations to us as Cabinet.
However, Mr. Speaker, we are committed to working with other Members to reduce violence in the Northwest Territories and to increase support for victims. This week, we saw the release of a study that showed residents of the Territories are more than three times as likely as their provincial counterparts to fall victim to violent crimes such as robberies and sexual assault. Clearly, we have much to do.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate my apologies to all people who have felt pain as a result of this. Mr. Speaker, I am truly sorry for it and thank you very much.
---Applause