Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to just add a few words to the debate today.
Mr. Speaker, I, like many others here, did not know what would be included in this report. I spent some time on the weekend reading this report and I must say I had to read it a few times. I know Commissioner Hughes. He was our Conflict of Interest Commissioner. He used to walk up and
down the hall. I loved finding moments here and there to talk to him. He’s a wise, well-learned, highly respected and a reputable man in the legal world, but also for a lot of work that he has done. I think we are lucky to have a man of his calibre who chose to take this project.
Mr. Speaker, in reading this -- and I think this is my own interpretation -- I think we often get asked the question, if you could spend time with one person, maybe have dinner, have coffee, who would you chose? I would love to spend some time with Commissioner Hughes to see what his thinking was -- because what I have to say is just my own opinion about what I’m reading -- I think what he’s trying to do in this report is give us a chance to have a big group hug. I don’t mean to make light of this, but this is what I’m seeing. He took pains to show that he listened to all of the six Members who filed the complaint. He made it clear that the Members had the right to file those complaints, and for those who are concerned that those Members were not represented by counsel, I don’t think there should be any worries about that.
He quoted all the Members. He found a lot. He got a lot out of the testimonies of the Members unrepresented. Any lawyer who practices in the legal world, we are always scared of appearing before non-represented lawyers because a good judiciary listens even more carefully to those who are not represented. So I’m glad, Mr. Speaker, that the report found that the Members had the right to bring those issues forward. As has already been stated, the Commissioner looked at all of the facts and really, basically, came down to say, okay, you’re right to raise this complaint, yes, there was a breach, but this really comes down to a man’s judgment.
On page 37 it says, and I quote, on the bottom of the paragraph, “The emotional strain that he had been through” -- referring to Mr. Roland -- “was evident when he gave his evidence.” He says, the Commissioner says, “There is neither a book nor a set of guidelines to follow in order to determine when to make the disclosure of such a relationship. As he said, he and Ms. Bisaro concluded in their discussion ‘there is no real right time to do this.’ In my assessment finding the answer to that dilemma all comes down to the application of one’s own judgment.” Commissioner Hughes is saying that it’s on man’s judgment, there’s not a book, there’s no rule or regulation that says when is the timing good. Yes, he made an error in judgment, but it was made in good faith. He’s telling us you had the right to raise the issue, but it was done in good faith and on the last paragraph he’s sending a message to us, on page 38, “I would hope”, and this is the message that I’m working with and I think this is the message the Commissioner is sending me, this is just my own interpretation, maybe if I have dinner with him 10 years from now he will say I got it wrong. I read
this a lot and I think he is sending us all, the whole House a message. I think that’s a message that a lot of us want to live with today and he says on page 38, I quote, “I would hope that the tone of that debate will reflect the civility which prevailed at this hearing, and that when the Assembly opens in the New Year it will be for an amicable and productive session.”
Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that we had one of the most renowned and reputed legal minds that looked at our question, he took our questions very seriously, he looked at all the evidence and he said at the end of the day it comes to one’s judgment. He could have done better, maybe worse, but it was made in good faith and get on with your work. That’s how I read this report, I believe that’s what the people say. I believe Mr. Roland said right at the beginning of the year, when he said he has to answer to his family and his God and that he will do that for the rest of his working life and personal life.
Mr. Speaker, as many Members have said, we have so much work to do for the remainder of the two years, I do hope that this is a closure. I don’t like the word closure, I think it’s an evolving process, but I think that this is a good point to move forward and to try to get the work done for the rest of the term for the people of the Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.