Thank you, Madam Speaker. The final report of the Special Committee on Aboriginal Languages, tabled in April 1990, included the recommended amendments to the Official Languages Act, which created the office of the Languages Commissioner. The special committee considered whether the exact powers and duties of the Languages Commissioner should be spelled out explicitly. However, they decided that the best choice was not to be specific; rather, the amendments would allow the Languages Commissioner to exercise political will and discretion in determining the powers and duties of the office.

Whenever someone takes on a new job, there is bound to be a period of adjustment and confusion. This is especially true in the case of this newly-created position, where the first incumbent was expected to quickly establish guidelines and boundaries for the responsibilities and authority of the job.

The recurring theme of the First Annual Report of the Languages Commissioner is that this has not been done. Throughout the report, the Languages Commissioner bemoans the lack of guidance regarding the scope of the position. Many of the most important recommendations in the report are essentially pleas for direction.

Committee Members are of the opinion that much of the responsibility for providing that direction rests with the Languages Commissioner herself. As head of an agency which is technically independent of the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Languages Commissioner does not have a Minister or deputy minister to report to. The Languages Commissioner does report to the Legislative Assembly; however, the Assembly's direction has already been made clear in the Official Languages Act, and specifically, in the sections relating to the position of Languages Commissioner, as developed by the Special Committee on Aboriginal Languages.

It is the committee's opinion that further specific direction from the Assembly is not necessary at this point. Therefore, the standing committee does not endorse recommendation 2. Rather, we would encourage the Languages Commissioner to be decisive in determining the range and limits of the authority of the office. Negotiations with the government, such as those surrounding the administrative protocol, are one solution to this aspect of the Languages Commissioner's job.

However, there may be times when the Languages Commissioner must just act, without waiting for direction. Committee Members appreciate that the Languages Commissioner might hesitate, concerned that decisive action might lead to uncomfortable situations. But the political nature of the position means that uncomfortable situations are unavoidable. The position of Languages Commissioner, by its very nature, is independent of the government. As a watch-dog position, the Languages Commissioner will sometimes be critical of the government, so the relationship between the Languages Commissioner and the government may not always be friendly and cordial. Committee Members feel this is a risk that the office of the Languages Commissioner must bear, if he or she is to effectively carry out the mandate of the office.

Madam Speaker, I will ask Mr. Antoine to continue.