REGINA - Cut Knife-Turtleford MLA Ryan Domotor has issued an apology in the Legislative Assembly after his arrest last fall for procuring sexual services.
Domotor has recently completed an alternative measures program in connection to the criminal charge, which was laid following a human trafficking sting operation last fall by Regina police. Prosecutors had stayed the criminal charge in court on Feb. 1 following Domotor's completion of that program.
Monday was the first sitting day back in the Legislature for all members since that court date. At the very start of proceedings, Domotor rose and said he was apologizing to his Legislature colleagues and to the people of Saskatchewan for his actions.
His full comments are as follows:
“At the time of my incident last fall, I was struggling emotionally with things that were happening in my personal life and my marriage. This affected my mental health, and my lapse in judgment, which resulted in me making a decision I will regret for the rest of my life.
“This is not a reflection of the government, or myself as an individual, but a reflection of what was happening in my personal life at that time. Again, I regret what I tried to do, and I apologize to my family, my constituency assistant, the constituents of Cut Knife-Turtleford, the Premier, and all the members of this Assembly, as well as any government officials that may have been affected by my actions.
“I’ve heard the Premier say on several occasions we can’t do this without the love and support of our family, and I believe that is so very, very true. I think we all have to remember that as members, elected officials, that we are just like regular people, and sometimes we make mistakes just like private individuals do in their lives. Some are major, some are minor, but we probably all know somebody who’s either said something or done something that they truly wish they could redo or take back.
“I can’t change what I tried to do that day, but it is something that I am truly sorry for and will regret for the rest of my days. I apologize again to everyone in this assembly, and to the people of Saskatchewan. Thank you.”
