This is a million dollar plus issue, so I would appreciate a response. I know that the people putting together the plan for the Chipewyan language community would and, I am sure, so would the Metis people of the South Slave.

I do have a further question, Mr. Chairman. My understanding is, once again, looking at the numbers, that the available proportional funding by population is $908,000 for all the language communities. My recollection is there was an agreement signed with the federal government for $1.9 million. I was wondering if the Minister could elaborate on where the other $1 million would be? This was a May 2 letter sent to the language community and signed by the assistant deputy minister, Ms. Gordon. They wrote the formulas and proportion.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There are other areas that we provide funding for. This is the amount that is used and transferred to the aboriginal language communities. The funding has contributed to such areas as aboriginal language broadcasting, teacher education program, geographic place names, interpreter translator program, language planning, resource development and promotion, and teaching and learning centres. Those are the types of areas it goes to.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Could the Minister indicate if that level of detail is available in the business plan? I do not recollect seeing it in the budget. I thought that level of detail would be there. Would it be possible to get a list of all the monies allocated?

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Ootes.

Yes, we can get the Member the information we have here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Chairman, I would ask a question now that we are on the issue of languages. The Language Strategy, which has been in the works for quite some time now and is a critical component to the survival and the enhancement of aboriginal languages. I looked at the documentation provided to me in regard to the Chipewyan Language Strategy. Their own assessment of the state of the language in the South Slave region was, to say the least, somewhat bleak.

In the community where I live, there are maybe twelve to fifteen percent of the people who speak the language. The number is somewhat higher in Fort Resolution and marginally higher again in Lutselk'e. In the South Slave for sure, we have a very significant situation with trying to preserve and enhance a language that is at the stage of being considered endangered.

This Language Strategy was supposed to bring together all the pieces with the Official Languages Act, including the role of the Language Commissioner, all the funding for aboriginal languages and French, what the department does, what the communities do, how we come up with a strategy to make sure the focus is on the communities and the families to ensure that the languages and culture are passed on from birth. I would like to ask the Minister for the status of that particular strategy and when will we see a finished product? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, it is important to have the strategy finalized in this whole area. I did meet with the language communities several months ago to discuss this whole area. The work on the strategy is continuing. We expect the strategy may be fairly close to completion, certainly before the end of summer. We hope to have that much before the end of summer, being the end of August, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you. Mr. Chairman, one of the accompanying strategies that was talked about yesterday in the House, and that the Minister made a commitment to, was the issue of a comprehensive strategy on literacy, which has very clear ties to language. Given the fact that they are starting out from two different points, the Language Strategy will be complete in the next number of weeks. They are just in the process of initiating a comprehensive Literacy Strategy. Could the Minister indicate how does he see linking the two to make sure that they are compatible and complement each other and are as closely linked as they have to be? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The item I spoke about yesterday this was literacy and Adult Basic Education Directive. From there, we want to develop a comprehensive Language Strategy. I think there needs to be a tie-in between aboriginal languages because it is as important as the Literacy Adult Basic Education Strategy. I do not have the answer as to how that will fit together until we have an opportunity to look at this and see what we can do to ensure there is an intertwining of the strategies.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A concern I had from my constituency, especially the ones taking the AV Program, is that the funding that they receive is inadequate in most cases, especially if you are a single mother and have to find babysitters and what not. The funding they do receive is not even close to what other people get in other programs because you are exempt from the Student Financial Assistance because it is not a caseload. Also, a lot of people take different programs because they are on employment insurance and what not.

I am wondering if the department has done anything to evaluate those programs to see exactly how they can streamline them so they are more reflective of each other, that one program is not better off than the other. All these students that we do have are on income support but they do not have the ability or the resources for babysitting and what not. Has the government done an evaluation to see why the students are being treated differently? Is it because of the different programs they are involved in or because of the social and economic situations they find themselves in, either on income support or employment insurance? Has the department done a review on that?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There is a range of support programs. Some are territorial, some are federal. We have the Student Financial Assistance, which is only for post-secondary education. There are differences in the programs, but that is the way they were designed, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is there anything in the works for the department to consider increasing the amount of the contribution for the Adult Basic Education Program? I see in your statement that Tree of Peace received about $95,000 of that each year, yet the amount that has been identified is $390,000. That leaves $300,000 for the other 16 or so communities. Because the amount is spread out among that many communities, it does not really add up to much, especially to do justice to the problems we are seeing in the communities with literacy and the importance for upgrading of those students who are on income support. What is the department doing to improve that?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are proposing to look at this and submit it to the Standing Committee on Social Programs, to look at re-establishing the Community Skills for Work Program. We are proposing $650,000 for that particular program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Krutko.