Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this is a very touchy subject, and I was part of the committee that went around to the territories and listened to people. So first off, I would like to thank the committee for all the hard work that we put into this report. We met 19 times. We went and listened to people. We had submissions. So we have to realize this wasn't done willy-nilly; this was done through the work of a committee that was trying to make the code of conduct work well for the Members and for the people of the Northwest Territories.
I have to thank the research staff in the clerk's office for everything they did to complete this report. They worked hard, just as we did, and tried to represent what was heard.
As well, I would like to thank all the people and organizations that took the time to present to this committee. People went out of their own way to represent their viewpoints to us. Their time and thoughts were greatly appreciated, and helped us, the committee, to complete this report. Not just the one, but the whole thing.
For the record, I do not support or condone violence of any form, especially family violence. With this in mind, and as we worked on the final report, I could not support the recommendation; however, as a committee, the majority rules, and that is what is presented here today.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate what my honourable colleagues from Thebacha, Deh Cho, Range Lake, and Yellowknife Centre have spoken about here today. It is very passionate for people. It is from the heart, people spoke, and I appreciate that. I appreciate the honesty of people speaking here.
Are we going to get the answer right? Who knows? I honestly don't know. When we look at it, I have to vote with my heart, and what my gut is telling me. I have been up front from the very beginning that I did not support this motion, so it is not because of public pressure that I am changing my opinion. I understood, and had the opportunity to be a Justice of the Peace, so I got to witness it firsthand that family violence has an impact on the Northwest Territories. I have had the opportunity to see the devastation that has occurred. However, there are always two sides to the story, and people need to understand that.
When I was looking at this, through our whole process, our criminal justice operates that once an offender has been convicted and their debt to society has been deemed paid, that we can move on. If this motion is accepted, basically, we are charging that person a second time, or double jeopardy. I appreciate my honourable colleague from the Deh Cho in speaking about the situation. He has lived it, and I appreciate that. I have had a number of conversations with the honourable Member. However, it is not about him. I want that for the record. My decisions are not about what has happened in the past. It is on how we move forward.
We should focus on healing. We really should. Unfortunately, this is what we were tasked to assign. That wasn't our responsibility. Our responsibility was to work on a code of conduct. With this in mind, as my other colleagues have spoken about, the fail-safe is that the voters can make the decision if that person is who they want to represent them here in the Legislative Assembly. I cannot, in good conscience, make a decision for them. They make the decision on who is going to representing their riding, and sometimes they make good decisions, and we can live with that.
I have to say something that a fellow colleague spoke this to me today, and I believe it. If we had accepted this, as the honourable Member from the Deh Cho said, he would not be here today. His leadership and his experience is, in my opinion, greatly valued. If I looked at it, if we all got charged for things that we have done in our past, we would not have been here. We have all made mistakes. If you do not say you did, I would think I would call you a liar because I know there are things that I have done in my life that I should not have done, and we learn from it. It is the opportunity, as I say, to people in -- I will digress a second here. If we look at it, what is a good kid and a bad kid? Good kids learn from their mistakes, or are given that opportunity. That is what we are looking for, is good leaders, and sometimes you have to learn going down the road of hard knocks, and if you do not do that, we are not going to move forward as a society. I know this may not make the public happy with me at the end of the day, but at the end of the day, true leadership is to speak from your heart, and I have to give credit where credit is due. Everybody here is going to speak, and I respect that, but at the end of the day, I cannot support this motion, and that will be the end of it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.