Gary Mar speaks out after being suspended

Late last week Gary Mar was suspended and now he is speaking out.

Premier Redford suspended Mar from his position as Alberta's trade representative in Asia after finding out about a fundraiser that was held to raise money to pay off Mar's PC leadership campaign debt. At the fundraiser, a trip to Hong Kong was auctioned off.

Mar says he is horrified by the allegations and will be doing everything he can to restore his reputation.

"All i've ever wanted to do, for nearly 20 years in my elected and government life, is to serve the Premier and the government and the people of the province of Alberta to the best of my ability and come out the other end with an intact reputation," Mar explains.

He says he was in Asia while the planning for the fundraiser was going on but says he doesn't think they did anything wrong. Mar explains that the original invitation to the event had his position published on it but a second one was later sent out without the mention of his position after concerns were raised of it being offside.

Mar says he was hoping this could be an opportunity for Albertans to do business in China and in Hong Kong.

"I didn't promise to do anything that I wouldn't do for anybody else," he says adding, "Albertans who are in need of help, in terms of making connections overseas, that's part of my job."

When asked about Premier Redford's decision to suspend him, Mar says he understands.

"I don't doubt for a moment that the Premier was trying making the best decision that she could with the information she had available at the time," he explains.

He has an optimistic view and intends to return to his position.

"I've got an important job to do there and, as I said, I want to serve the Premier to the best of my ability and I want to serve Albertans to the best of my ability," Mar says.

He wants to urge he is not placing blame on anyone he just wants to restore his reputation and his job.

Originally, Redford asked the ethics commissioner to conduct the investigation but because Mar is a contract government employee. The matter is being handed back to the government where it will be handled by senior civil servant Peter Watson.

With files from Vassy Kapelos.