I also have a response to Jeannie Marie-Jewell's question of November 30 on justifying moving the Fort Smith regional manager position to Hay River. The purpose of the Fort Smith regional manager position is to manage and coordinate the work and activities of the Language Bureau staff in Rae/Edzo, Fort Simpson, Hay River, Lutsel K'e and to monitor and maintain standards of interpreting and translating services. The position is in charge of all language services provided to government departments and agencies in the Fort Smith Region. There are no aboriginal language interpreter/translator staff members in Fort Smith. The position was relocated from Fort Smith to Hay River to enable the Manager to work directly with at least one of his staff and to take advantage of the Manager's fluency in South Slavey.
In Hay River, the Manager is available to provide additional language services when required in that community. The Manager could not have provided interpretation or translation in Chipewyan or Cree had he been required to in Fort Smith, since his language is South Slavey. It is also less expensive for the Manager to travel out of Hay River to the other communities in the region. Thank you.