Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the 12th Legislative Assembly this government has spoken many times about the need to decentralize government departments and devolve responsibilities to communities throughout the north. Mr. Speaker, I have strongly supported and fought for the implementation of this policy, not just during the 12th Assembly but since I was first elected to this House.

I feel that we have taken some steps during the past year to realize these policy initiatives, however, there are cases where some government departments seem reluctant to change the status quo. One such case is the South Slave interpreter/translator position currently located in Hay River.

On January 29 of this year, the Band Council on the Hay River Reserve passed a motion calling for the government to establish a South Slave Interpreter Office on the Hay River Reserve. I have been working on this case since that time and I have been in contact with the appropriate Ministers with little success. Frankly, after six months, I feel as though I have been getting the bureaucratic run around.

I wrote to the former Minister of Culture and Communications in early March to ask that this position be relocated to the Hay River Reserve where it could better service the Dene people of that region. The Minister responded that he would not consider my request until after the amalgamation of the Departments of Education and Culture.

Earlier this month, I wrote to the Minister of the new Department of Education, Culture and Employment Programs about this matter. The Minister responded that he would not consider this request until a full review of the programs and services of the new department had been undertaken.

Mr. Speaker, this is not acceptable. If matters regarding decentralization are left until the full departmental review has been undertaken, they may never be resolved, certainly not in the near future.

It is my belief that, of all government programs that should be considered immediately for decentralization, the Aboriginal Language Interpreter/Translator Program is one of the most important.