Thank you, Madam Speaker. To continue the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions report on the First Annual report of the Languages Commissioner.
The Nature Of The Position Of Languages Commissioner
From the beginning, there have been difficulties with the nature of the Languages Commissioner's position. The appointment of the incumbent was surrounded by contentious debate. Since then, there has been confusion over administrative issues, such as whether a Languages Commissioner is eligible for merit increases as a deputy minister is.
Committee Members agreed that this area needed clarification. The position should not be seen as a "public service" position in the same way as that of positions in government departments. As the Languages Commissioner is an independent officer, it would not be appropriate to consider merit increases. This would require a judgement concerning the "merit" of the incumbent, and it would be impossible to preserve the independence of the office if such judgements were being made. The standing committee feels the present wage and benefits package is adequate, and should remain fixed for the remainder of the term of the incumbent.
Committee Members also felt that a contractual arrangement would be more appropriate for future incumbents. This would also be in keeping with the recent government initiative to convert deputy minister positions to contract-based positions, rather than indeterminate appointments. It was felt that changing the rules in the middle of the incumbent's term would be unfair; therefore, such a change should take effect in 1996, at the end of the present Languages Commissioner's term.
Recommendation 3
Therefore, ABC's recommendation 3 is the committee recommends that upon the expiry of the term of the present Languages Commissioner, the position of Languages Commissioner be changed to a contractual position.
Madam Speaker, I will now turn this over to my colleague for Yellowknife Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.