Mr. Speaker, this weekend the board of the Native Communications Society of the Northwest Territories meets to decide whether to shut down a northern institution that provides daily Dene language programs through the Northwest Territories.
NCS is in this position because of a fight over funding with the Conservative government, which caused their station to lay off most of its staff in July, cut all local programming, and limit broadcasts to preset music. This is jeopardizing radio station CKLB, which has been on the air for 30 years.
I have also heard that the Inuvialuit Communications Society came close to shutting down due to funding delays and that the Aboriginal Voices Radio Network has had funding problems as well.
The two objectives of Heritage Canada funding for aboriginal radio are to ensure availability of significant amount of radio and television programming and to contribute to the protection and enhancement of aboriginal languages and cultures.
Aboriginal media give a voice to Canada's first peoples to tell their stories and preserve their language and cultures. Petty funding delays endanger this vital fabric of Canada.
Will the minister get this together immediately?