Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to start today by thanking MLA Freda Martselos for being outspoken on this topic and raising the point of privilege that she has so eloquently raised. It's obvious, Mr. Speaker, that we all have a right to work without threats and intimidation, to not be bullied or to work with bullies. And that's not only true of ourselves; it's also true for our staff as well.
MLA for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh crossed this line by threatening me and my colleagues in October with his "I'm coming for you" statement so much so that I did consider going to the RCMP because just weeks earlier, I had suggested that he resign and I felt that I had made myself a target by doing so. Further, I had to think twice about whether I was going to stand up and talk about it today or whether I was, in fact, enlarging the target on me.
So from my point of view, it's unambiguous. The intention of the Member was to intimidate me and everyone else who received the message in the Facebook chat. And we have not, to this point, seen him take any responsibility for his statements. Up to this point, he has yet to acknowledge what he wrote or said, let alone apologize, and this is unacceptable.
It's important to know that this is not a one-off. I'm aware from discussions with those involved that he has also threatened staff with the same language of "I'm coming for you." It's as wholly unacceptable to threaten staff as it is to threaten Members. But unlike Members, staff do not have an easy recourse. We have the opportunity to talk about this point of privilege, but staff do not have the same recourse primarily because of the power differential between the staff and the Members and also because the staff, as we all know, are here to facilitate the business and operation of the Legislative Assembly. And it's my experience that they go out of their way to do that. They, as I would sometimes say, drink a lot of bath water in order to make the institution run smoothly and overlook minor problems with procedure. This, however, is not a minor problem. This is a problem that strikes at the very heart of what we're doing.
The code of conduct, this has been cited previously, asks us to do our utmost to respect and honour all inhabitants of the NWT, and I take that to mean me and you as well, and to treat the public, one another, and staff appropriately and without harassment. Members must take all reasonable steps to ensure the work environment is free of harassment.
In this case, Mr. Speaker, I take harassment to include intimidation using the definition of "harassment" in the code that it is improper behaviour by a Member that is directed to and is offensive to any Member or employee, among others.
The code goes on to say that if the Member knew or ought to have reasonably known that he was harassing someone and that his speech would be unwelcome, then it's on him to acknowledge that behaviour, to stop it, and to find a remedy for it, whether that's arbitration, an apology, or some other form.
So for me, the situation is very clear that Mr. Norn's -- that the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh's behaviour has interfered with our work, and it has interfered with the work that we've been elected to do. It has occupied a tremendous amount of our time and treasure to deal with this unwanted behaviour. And his conduct is not becoming to a Member of this House. So it is my view that there is a breach of privilege here, both on the face of it, and it was raised at the first opportunity. Thank you.