The minister of Education told the Yukon legislature Monday about being threatened with physical violence last month, while the other people in the room say that was not the case.

During his response to the new budget, Education Minister John Edzerza brought up a recent incident and what he perceived was happening.

The minister mentioned the fact that he was on a noon-hour talk show on CBC North radio recently.

The mid-day program featured a call-in show on the idea of first nations taking control of the education of their youth from the territory.

The show also discussed the controversy between the government and the Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation over the plan to build a new school in that community.

The other panelists in the studio with Edzerza were NDP MLA, and former Carmacks chief, Eric Fairclough, and the current chief, Eddie Skookum.

Edzerza said some interesting things happened when the guests' microphones were turned off for the 1 p.m. news that day.

'This minister was verbally attacked by the two other guests, to the point of where there was actually a threat of physical violence,' Edzerza told the legislature.

'In fact, another individual in that studio had to intervene and say that there would be none of that in the studio.'

In an interview this morning, Fairclough said he did not attack Edzerza.

'That's not true,' said Fairclough.

'I didn't get into a threat of any physical violence with the minister at all.'

The MLA said the argument was just between Edzerza and Skookum.

'It was difficult to calm people down,' said Fairclough.

'He had his staffers come in and take him out of the studio because he wouldn't just walk out and take it.'

Fairclough said there was no threat of physical violence during the shouting match.

'No, no, no. Eddie was sitting down and John was 10 feet away.'

He and CBC host Nancy Thomson were both literally between the two arguers.

'He walked out angry and arguing with the chief,' Fairclough said about the minister.

CBC North boss Mike Linder explained today what happened from the standpoint of his staff.

'Essentially, Skookum and Edzerza got into a bit of an argument,' Linder said. 'There was no physical violence.'

He said the two had a heated exchange but what he was told happened doesn't jibe with the minister's claim that he was verbally attacked.

After the argument had raged on for a little while, CBC producer Leonard Linklater jumped in and told the two that was enough, according to Linder.

Edzerza was leaving the studio at 1 p.m. because he had another appointment, but the show was continuing on for another hour.

'This minister received an invitation in advance to go to that talk show,' Edzerza told the legislature yesterday.

'It was supposed to be for a period from 12 noon to 1 p.m. At approximately three minutes to 1:00, the narrator of that noon show requested that I stay for another hour. Because I had other commitments, I had to decline.'

Traditionally, the CBC points out to in-studio guests of the show before going on air that if there is a lot of interest, the call-in portion will be extended for another hour beyond 1 p.m.

'After that incident took place, I left the studio, and it became a talk show where everyone got a chance to bash the minister, who was not present,' the minister told his fellow MLAs.

'I thought that was very unprofessional of the CBC station to even continue with this discussion; however, that was the decision of the narrator and whoever is responsible for running CBC.'

The minister then started to say, 'People were very suspicious as to why only members of family and whatnot of.... ' before getting cut off by Fairclough on a point of order in the house.

Edzerza continued his attack on the CBC after it was ruled Fairclough did not have a point of order.

'As I was saying before I was interrupted, there were in fact calls made to me in regard to suspicion around what appeared to be only select people who were able to get through the lines to make responses to all the accusations against our government and me as minister,' he said.

'Well, I was not there to defend myself. I thought the way the show ended was very unprofessional. I was kind of sad, because it was a good show to start with, but it turned into somewhat of just a kind of bashing at the end.'

Linder said Edzerza is wrong about his accusation that the broadcaster stacked the callers.

'We don't screen calls, period,' he said.

'We take them as they come and put them in a queue.'