Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and honourable Members. Regardless of the fact that fine people are involved, Mr. Speaker, this House should insist on only the highest standards when it comes to the accountability of this office. Perhaps the situation is compounded further by the fact that a Member in question is also a Member of the Executive Council. There is a risk that public perception of decisions on the granting of leaves, the allocation of human or financial resources or the priority accorded to certain legislative initiatives may be affected by the nature of that friendship which exists. This could easily become a matter of confidence within this House. I do not want to see those issues arise. The matter must be addressed now before it leads to non-confidence considerations in the future.
Perhaps the problem is that the office of the Languages Commissioner is new and that not enough thought was given to the accountability process when the act was amended. The Languages Commissioner is an officer of the Legislative Assembly, not an employee of a department.
The only officer in a similar position is the Clerk of this House. The Clerk reports to the Management and Services Board and is held accountable by Members who sit on that board. If there are questions or input about the Clerk's office, they can be dealt with by the Management and Services Board.
There is no equivalent body for the office of the Languages Commissioner. That leaves an accountability vacuum with which I am very uncomfortable. Mr. Speaker, the honourable Members and people of the public who know me will tell me that I am not a mean-spirited or vindictive person. I try to be compassionate and thoughtful. I raise this matter only because I am concerned about the integrity of this House and its officer.
Even more important, Mr. Speaker, this is a matter which relates to our aboriginal languages. I was a big supporter of the office of the Languages Commissioner when the Special Committee on Official Languages brought forward its recommendations. I am still a supporter, Mr. Speaker. I feel, however, that if the credibility of the office becomes damaged, then the credibility of our efforts and our progress in this area of aboriginal languages will be damaged. Mr. Speaker, this is just too high a price to pay. I trust it will be possible to deal with those concerns effectively, compassionately, with finality and with a spirit of consensus. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause