Pardon my ignorance. I would like to table Tabled Document 15-12(2), a transcript of the territorial court judgment rendered in February, 1990, which includes a summary of sentencing patterns and sexual assault cases in the Northwest Territories and elsewhere. I would like honourable Members to know...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to table Tabled Document 15-12(2), if you would permit me to read it first.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a written question for the Minister of Justice. Would the Minister please provide this House with: a) a list of all cases in which an absolute discharge has been granted for sexual offenders by territorial court judges within the past five years; and b) a listing showing participants and dates of all training initiatives undertaken by any and all judges of the territorial court within the past five years, dealing with topics related to gender issues, sexual assault, or the sentencing of sex offenders? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs. I was dismayed to learn that a man convicted of sexual assault against one of my constituents not only went

unpunished by the territorial courts but now plans to resume his former position as president of the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut. Will the Minister now make a commitment not to recognize Paul Quassa as president of TFN until he has demonstrated that he has the confidence of Inuit people by standing for re-election by the full membership?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have another supplementary for the Minister of Justice. Recognizing that it takes a lot of courage for a female victim of sexual assault to bring forward her complaint, and recognizing that a trial is a very stressful experience for the victim to endure when the accused pleads not guilty, and recognizing that an absolute discharge is not even a slap on the wrist because there is no court-imposed penalty and the conviction is not even included in the offender's criminal record, is the Minister not concerned that Judge Davis' ruling on the Quassa affair will discourage women from bringing incidents of sexual assault to the attention of the authorities?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a supplementary question for the Minister of Justice. Would the Minister please explain to the House what is meant by the term "absolute discharge"?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have some questions for the Minister of Justice on the Quassa affair. On February 14, 1992, Judge Thomas Davis of the territorial court granted an absolute discharge to Paul Quassa, the former TFN president, even though Mr. Quassa was found guilty of sexually assaulting one of my constituents.

In an apparent attempt to down-play the seriousness of Paul Quassa's criminal behaviour, some media and some political leaders have been careful to refer to the charge as "sexual touching." Will the Minister confirm to the House that touching a woman in a sexual fashion is, in fact, considered a form of sexual assault?

I have never made a secret of the fact that what I did was wrong, and I accepted my punishment. I can remember some of the authorities telling me at the time that they planned to make an example of my situation. Well, what sort of example has been made by the court's judgment of Paul Quassa?

With this decision, I am afraid that Judge Davis has provided us with an example that drunkenness, sexism and lack of self-control are all excusable, so long as you happen to be a political figure of today in the Northwest Territories. This court decision has failed to respect the dignity of aboriginal women, or to uphold their right to safety from humiliation and sexual harassment.

Mr. Speaker, within our past traditions our Inuvialuit forefathers used to turn their backs on people who were unwilling or unable to live in harmony with our society. In modern times we have counted on the court system to deal with the deviants among us. Since the court has now demonstrated its unwillingness to perform this role, perhaps we should now turn our backs collectively on Paul Quassa until he delivers an appropriate apology and seeks the confidence of Inuit in a general election. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

He should know that no Inuk woman has to endure the indignity of sexual victimization in the 1990s. And even if Mr. Quassa was not aware of this fact, Mr. Speaker, our court system should be.

I cannot understand how Judge Thomas Davis of the territorial court. could excuse this behaviour with an absolute discharge. Later today I will be tabling an earlier court decision which summarizes a range of sexual assault cases, some of which occurred under very similar circumstances to Mr. Quassa's -- which all resulted in a court-imposed penalty of some sort.

Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues will be aware that at one point in my life I was in court and was sent to jail because I physically abused a woman. I am not proud of that time, Mr.

Speaker, and I have apologized to the victim and to women's organizations throughout the Territories.

I would like to seek unanimous consent to continue, Mr. Speaker.