SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
An NWT MLA has resigned as chair of the legislative assembly's Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning for missing a day and a half of committee meetings in Inuvik last Friday and Saturday because of excessive drinking.
Kevin Menicoche apologized to his
constituents for his recent behaviour in Inuvik, where he missed two days of government meetings because of drinking. - NNSL file photo |
Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche said he missed chairing meetings on Friday "because of excessive drinking the night before." MLAs also say Menicoche missed a half-day of meetings on Saturday.
All non-cabinet MLAs were scheduled to be in Inuvik for a series of retreat-style committee meetings.
An MLA who was in Inuvik, who would only speak off the record, told Yellowknifer that Mackenzie Delta MLA Frederick Blake Jr. was also involved and missed Friday's meetings because of drinking. Blake apologized to the committee for his actions during a closed-door meeting in Yellowknife Thursday that was called to discuss potential disciplinary actions, said deputy chair Daryl Dolynny. Blake also expressed a desire to seek treatment for substance abuse.
However, Blake did not return repeated requests for an interview by press time.
On Wednesday, Menicoche issued a statement apologizing for his behaviour.
"I feel I may have embarrassed my constituents and deeply regret that," he stated. "I will be taking the necessary steps this week to address my personal problems, which includes use of the Members' Assistance Program to seek treatment."
Menicoche told Yellowknifer he made the decision to seek treatment because he doesn't want to make similar mistakes again.
He added that he hopes others who are struggling with alcohol abuse will be able to learn from what he is currently going through.
"Sometimes you think that you're doing fine, but to me, I think that it snuck up on me," he said. "Getting into excessive drinking and that sort of thing, that's not where I want to be in my life, especially given my role as MLA and all the people who believe in and support me."
Menicoche had been travelling since Tuesday and was also participating in economic development and infrastructure committee meetings.
"I completed all my other meetings but, you know, poor judgment and regretfully I got involved in excessive drinking and alcohol," he said. "I did ask the legislative assembly to bill me for any additional costs that may have been incurred as a result of my absence."
The absence of two members on Friday affected all other MLAs attending the meetings in Inuvik because they were discussing wide-ranging issues, said Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro.
"When you want to get into a philosophical discussion, so it can be difficult to have a discussion when people aren't there," she said.
Bisaro declined to comment on the specifics of Menicoche's and Blake's actions, "but the result of the behaviour was that we were missing two members on the first day, and one member for the first half of the second day," she said.
"I think people can draw their own conclusions. It's unfortunately not something that has never happened before."
In a territory plagued by alcoholism and other substance abuse, it is to be expected that a government elected to represent a wide cross-section of society will encounter these issues, said Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley.
"I think obviously alcoholism and addictions generally are clearly a disease we're very concerned about," he said.
"They certainly need to be recognized and a personal commitment made to go through treatment."
While personal problems with alcohol are not normally publicized, this case is an exception because it affected public servants' ability to do their jobs. While this may be awkward, it is fair, said Bisaro.
"We're paid by taxpayers, we are hired through a vote to work on behalf of our constituents," she said.
"So, we should be held to a higher standard, absolutely."
