Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation) I will be speaking in my language. Mr. Speaker, I will be speaking about the motion pertaining to official languages. I think it is good that the federal government is helping us fund official languages. There are a lot of official languages in the territories and when we meet, interpreters translate for us simultaneously. In doing so, people across the NWT are able to understand what we are saying in their language.
Also, the department that looks after the training of interpreters has released the two people who help to train court interpreters. Because of this, when native people go to court, I don't know how they are going to be interpreted for in court.
They are reviewing how the Official Languages Act is working at present. Although the review hasn't been finished, they have released some of the people. This is what I do not agree with.
The Government of the Northwest Territories is saying that we should be reviewing the Official Languages Act and would like to meet with all the people who are affected by the Official Languages Act. This is important to me.
As long as the Legislative Assembly has been sitting, we have had simultaneous interpreting and they have done a good job. So what is now being said is that they will be revising the usage of the official languages. There are many languages across our territories. We should be talking to the people who are affected by the Official Languages Act. (Translation ends)
What I am saying here, Mr. Speaker, is that I think the main point here I would like to stress is in the "now therefore I move" section of this motion, the section that deals with "in cooperation with the NWT organizations with interest in official languages". I think that is the key area for me because, up to this point, this Legislative Assembly, since introducing the official languages services which I have always supported has developed it to this point.
Now that there are cutbacks from the federal government, there are diminishing resources to provide this service as we have known it to date. There have been some cuts that have been implemented by certain government departments and, at the same time, there is a review that is going on. This review is not yet concluded. Already, the government is making some decisions to change the way they provide the official languages services. I guess that is the main point that we are trying to reach here. Where do we go from here? This is the direction of this motion. What I would like to stress in this motion is "in cooperation with the NWT organizations". Instead of just a merry, breezy type of consultation, we should have a more in-depth involvement of all the individual aboriginal language groups in the north in this review because, up to this point, I have heard a lot of comments by different aboriginal leaders, different organizations which deal with culture and so forth.
Language is the key; language is the key to the cultures of the different aboriginal organizations in the north, and therefore, they have to be really involved in this whole process if this motion goes ahead.
(Translation) This is as much as I would like to say. Thank you.