Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I listened with interest to the comments the Member for Aivilik made. I recognize that's probably how the official languages, particularly in that riding, work. They ensure the enhancement and preservation of that language in those areas. However, I do want to note for the record that in the many other ridings, particularly in the west, the struggle to maintain many of the aboriginal languages is getting more difficult because of the lack of available teachers to teach those languages. In as much as it's carried out in the eastern part of the territories, it is not as easy as it sounds in the west. That is why we're very concerned that official languages other than English are taught as part of the education program, so the students have the opportunities and choices Mrs. Thompson speaks about.
I do know that even in our schools it's very, very difficult to get Cree or Chipewyan taught as a language of instruction, mainly because of the act; we just don't have the qualified instructors to teach it.
I just wanted to make that comment that it's something that people in the west are still struggling with, and there is a valid concern that aboriginal languages are almost going to become eliminated. I look at the generation of even my parents to myself, I think of my mother having to speak about four languages and all I can speak is English. It wasn't taught at home, but it's just that I know it wasn't encouraged in the school system. It wasn't as readily available in the west as it is in the east in the school system. So I certainly hope that we can make every effort to address this concern that's happening in the west with respect to aboriginal languages. Thank you.