Mr. Chairman, I have spoken to people who have been involved in the long process that the Minister refers to and I've been told the Association for Community Living suggested, on this fundamental and philosophical issue we are talking about for the respect for the dignity of the individual, that a preamble could provide the comfort that those who are concerned about this issue seek.

I'm further told that the Minister's legal advisor said no, that it was out of the question because we don't do preambles in legislation in the Northwest Territories. Yet, I know that the Official Languages Act has a preamble. I'm not just coming up with an off-the-wall suggestion here, Mr. Chairman. I'm trying to understand why what I thought was a reasonable suggestion was apparently rejected out of hand as being unprecedented, while I know that it is not unprecedented.

I'm just trying to find out whether this suggestion was ever considered seriously. Was it rejected because the particular legislative draftsman wasn't aware of the fact that preambles have been used even in the Northwest Territories to set the tone of a piece of legislation? What's the background on this? Was there a good reason for rejecting that suggestion or not? Thank you.