When I was appointed, it was suggested that I could establish an advisory council. I have taken certain steps in the last two years to address that and it is in my report. It is one of the things that I need some guidance on again, at this point, to see what exactly the Assembly had in mind when they suggested an advisory council. We wrote 115 letters, for example, to try and get input from all of the native organizations, hamlets, divisional boards, and all sorts of different groups, boards, agencies and MLAs. In the absence of having that advisory council, right now, I make it a point of meeting with major groups that represent official languages, such as Dene Cultural Institute, Inuit Cultural Institute and the French Federation. I try and meet with all other groups that invite me to come, if I can, or at least to be in touch with them so that I know what their priorities and concerns are. My mandate, as I see it, in relation to those groups, is that I consult with them as I am required to do under the act, to
consult with representatives. I do that on a regular basis. I see them as providing me with the information I need from the language communities, so I can address those and bring them to the Assembly's attention. That is how I see my relationship to them. They provide a great deal of feedback on how they feel about the government's implementation of official languages. In each community, they are feeling the effect of it. So they can bring that information back to me and I can pass it on to the Assembly or to the government department responsible.