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Zoe says club president cost him his job

Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 28/05) - Embattled North Slave MLA Henry Zoe says rules barring Legion members from speaking out against themselves should have protected him from the public scrutiny that cost him his job in cabinet last year.

Zoe was stripped of his Municipal and Community Affairs portfolio and then booted out of cabinet by fellow MLAs after an allegation surfaced that he had acted inappropriately towards a woman at the Royal Canadian Legion last May 15.




Henry Zoe: "I didn't want to do a public apology ... They made me do it."


The incident came to light after Legion president Lloyd Lush wrote Premier Joe Handley, complaining that Zoe was drunk and making derogatory comments against Newfoundlanders on the evening in question.

Zoe was forced to apologize in the legislative assembly for his remarks on May 27.

Later that day, Handley said he received a phone call from a woman alleging that the former minister had done something "much more serious" at the Legion other than verbally abusing Newfoundlanders.

The next day, Handley fired Zoe from his minister's post, citing the "new information" he had received as the reason. Zoe remained in cabinet, but as minister-without-portfolio. Three days after that, MLAs voted him out of cabinet altogether.

Speaking to the media for the first time about his dismissal, Zoe said the original letter to Handley should never have been issued because club rules state that complaints against fellow members must be kept within the confines of the Legion hierarchy.

"Not even the media is supposed to know," said Zoe, who is a Legion member.

"It's supposed to be done internally. It's a private, private, private club and nothing is supposed to leave the four walls."

Zoe said he wouldn't have made a public apology in the legislative assembly, but Range Lake MLA Sandy Lee and Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen "forced him" into it.

"I didn't want to do a public apology," said Zoe. "They made me do it."

Last fall, club past-president Merlyn Williams filed a complaint with the Royal Canadian Legion Alberta/ NWT command in Calgary, accusing Lush of breaking the rules by going to the premier with his complaint about Zoe.

A disciplinary hearing was held at the Yellowknife Legion last Saturday.

Williams declined to comment while awaiting a verdict from Legion brass, which is expected within 30 days.

When asked if he intends to take legal action if Legion command rules against Lush, Zoe said he is thinking about it.

"That's one thing I might consider," said Zoe. "Plus something else, too, but I'm going to wait until the decision comes out."

Lush defended his decision to write the premier, stating that Zoe made it clear on the evening of May 15 that he wasn't acting as a Legion member. He said Zoe was bragging to everybody during his outbursts that he was a territorial cabinet minister.

"He said he was a minister of the government, that's what he said in the Legion," said Lush.

"(Other members) were going to take action themselves. They asked me to take action, or they were going to do it."

Lush, however, said he is unaware of what might have occurred regarding any inappropriate incident involving a woman.

What makes the matter confusing is a letter sent by Handley to Alberta command at the request of Lush, dated Sept. 27, where he states Zoe was fired: "Based on a series of subsequent events that were brought to my attention and not related to the incident that may have occurred in the Legion."

When reached for comment, however, Handley said his letter to Alberta command simply may not have been clear enough. He maintains that the "new information" that cost Zoe his job did indeed take place at the Legion.

"I'm very clear in my mind that it happened in the Legion," said Handley.

Groenewegen and Lee, meanwhile, said they didn't force Zoe to make a public apology. Groenewegen said what they offered was more like "motherly advice."

In an unrelated matter, Zoe has a court date on March 18 to answer to a charge of resisting arrest following an incident with police last August. He could lose his seat in the legislative assembly if convicted.

"I'd say he's probably not in the best frame of mind right now," said Groenewegen, who added that she's worried about him.

Zoe said he hasn't "put his foot in" the Legion since he was escorted out of the club last May.