Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was called away from the House and didn't participate in the motion on the censure of our Premier and the recommendations to help survivors of sexual abuse. I've been a strong advocate of survivors of sexual abuse, especially in residential schools.
Mr. Speaker, I make my statement with great sadness and grief. I'm a victim of the residential school sexual assault. After hearing what the Premier had said, I felt a distance from the Premier. When we were going through the trial, parents, families, friends and even residents of Inuvik came to the trial and demonstrated the compassion that I did not see with Mr. Premier.
Mr. Speaker, at the residential schools, the church and the federal government and the government-hired people like Ed Horne, Martin Huston, John Comeau, George Mazynski, and Paul Leroux. Mr. Speaker, I asked the Premier to read the testament of Dr. Peter Collins, an expert in sex crimes and how pedophiles function. Mr. Speaker, the Premier will be well advised to read this and he will learn a few things about Ed Horne and others like him. What you say to my friends from the era of residential schools, Mr. Speaker, as a token of regret and compassion the Premier should tour the Mackenzie Valley and apologize to each community who went to residential schools, perhaps requesting the bishops of the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches to accompany him.
After the Grollier Hall trials we had made a recommendation that the residential school aftermath advisor be appointed by the government-of-the-day. This was not done. As a method of keeping abreast of residence school issues, Mr. Speaker, I recommend again, on behalf of the residential school sexual abuse survivors and sexual abuse survivors across the North, to point a residential school aftermath advisor. We do not know who the Premier listens to in this office on issues like these, but we must listen to survivors and not to the advisors who live in Yellowknife. Listen to the survivors.
One of my constituents asked me what kind of man is Mr. Handley. Mr. Premier, I had to defend Mr. Handley because I'm part of this government. Mr. Speaker, we, as victims of sexual abuse, can't put our hand out to Mr. Handley like the RCMP did to us when they believed us in Grollier Hall on the sexual abuse issues. Mr. Handley's apologies we are capable of accepting. Mr. Speaker, some of our drummers in the Sahtu are doing a prayer song for us in the Legislature here today.