Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday you tabled a report, the first annual report of the Languages Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. I'd like to express my appreciation to the Languages Commissioner for the work she has put into this document.
I read portions of the report with great interest. I know the section in which the Languages Commissioner did special studies. One of these special studies was a review of a Canada/Northwest Territories cooperation agreement on aboriginal languages and French.
Mr. Speaker, I'll be focusing on the Canada/Northwest Territories cooperation agreement on aboriginal languages and French. There were two agreements, one from 1984 to 1989, of which $16 million was allocated for aboriginal languages. I don't know how much was for French. The second agreement was from March, 1991 to 1994, where $18 million was allocated for aboriginal languages and $12.8 million for French.
Mr. Speaker, I'm very disappointed in the results the Languages Commissioner found. Each year this government assembles a list of specific projects that have been requested, puts them together and submits them to the federal Secretary of State for approval. It seems that this is always done after April 1, so the projects people who have applied for funding, have to wait until the Secretary of State approves the application and the money is then allocated. I know some start-up money and some advances are provided by this government, but the result is that the projects are always behind the eight ball and always waiting for formal approval of their projects which they are trying to get going.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.