Yellowknife (Oct 20/06) - Premier Joe Handley's regular guy persona took a hit in the legislative assembly Tuesday when it was revealed he had his own reserved parking spot at the airport.

Hay River MLA Jane Groenewegen questioned the fairness of providing the premier parking privileges and became upset after transport minister Michael McLeod insisted the territories' leader was not allotted his own space.

"Thank you,... I know how to read," said Groenewegen, responding to McLeod's contention the only reserved spaces were for himself and the RCMP.

"Unless the head of the RCMP has been renamed the premier, the sign on the parking stall says 'premier'," added Groenwegen.

"It's for the minister and the RCMP...we do a lot of business in the airport. We are responsible for the airport," said McLeod.

"But we will have somebody go see if the signs have been changed or if I'm not correct, we will ensure the parking nameplates are in the proper places."

Under the din of the Groenewegen-McLeod exchange, the premier could be heard asking cabinet colleagues if they knew about the space because he did not.

After the session, Handley's head spokesperson Julia Mott reiterated the premier's surprise of the space's existence.

"The premier has never used a dedicated parking space at the airport. Whenever I've travelled with him he's parked in the car park and purchased a ticket just like everybody else," said Mott. "I think it's safe to say the premier has no plans to use this parking space."

The Department of Transportation had removed the 'premier' sign as of Wednesday morning.