First, I would like to say to the Member that I was not upset by the conflict of interest inquiry that was conducted last year. I think it is one of the things that has to have been addressed with this position. It is a new position. There has never been one like this before, and the reporting relationship, even at this point, is still not clear. It was something that had to be addressed. I didn't see it as a personal affront.
With regard to the particular incident that Mr. Gargan is making reference to, the French newspaper carried an article that said that I had cancelled their engagement here in Yellowknife and that I decided to go to Saskatchewan instead. I cannot say the report was inaccurate. It was incomplete. It didn't have all of the details that I think would have helped people understand what was behind the decision. My engagement in Yellowknife was to read a speech in French for about ten minutes to open the youth Parliament. It had nothing to do with official languages. I wasn't asked to speak about official languages. I didn't write the speech. It was simply to read a speech to open their Parliament. I didn't consider that that was as important as dealing with an issue involving... This is difficult for me to discuss because it verges on breaching confidentiality about an issue that I am dealing with. It was a problem that was brought to my attention when I was in Ottawa.
So, I decided to go to that engagement. Unfortunately, it was cancelled the day after the French Youth Parliament, so I never went to Saskatoon either, but I do have a letter of invitation to come back again to discuss it because the problem still exists. I do see that as part of my mandate. If there are NWT students whose education is paid for by this government and they have to go to other institutions in the south, if they are having problems because of language difficulties and if I can be of some assistance in resolving those problems, I do see that as part of my mandate. That is why I made that decision to be involved in that particular issue.