Official Languages committee  That is correct.

Official Languages committee  And the details are laid out in the letter of decision.

Official Languages committee  I have been working with the program only since 2001, but I can tell you that the Contribution Agreement has not changed since 1994.

Official Languages committee  I think the Contribution Agreement is really quite satisfactory. If you look at the most recent evaluation, done in 2003, it clearly states that the Court Challenges Program is working very well, that its purpose is to protect rights and addresses the issues of equality and language rights as set out in the Contribution Agreement, fulfilling the government's mandate.

Official Languages committee  No.

Official Languages committee  If I may, I will try to briefly highlight a few points. The Contribution Agreement signed between Canadian Heritage and the Court Challenges Program of Canada in 2004 clearly states the program's mandate, which is to clarify language and equality rights in order to get people to better understand, respect and apply those rights.

Canadian Heritage committee  The voices that are being brought forth are the ones that would not otherwise be heard, so I think that's very important to know about the program. The voices you're talking about, that want to defend the legislation of the government, are already being defended by the government.

Canadian Heritage committee  The evaluation suggests that we did the right thing.

Canadian Heritage committee  The panels are appointed by a selection committee. The board appoints members to the selection committee, and again, it's for their expertise in either equality or language.

Canadian Heritage committee  The selection committee then appoints, independently, members of the panel.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think it's important to include the people who are being demographically targeted by this program. You can't just create a program without having the input of the people who are actually going to be affected by it. One of the strengths of our program is to actually have the people who are targeted, or who are identified as being the ones who need assistance, also being able to set some direction in terms of how best the program will serve their needs.

Canadian Heritage committee  Correct.

Canadian Heritage committee  Correct.

Canadian Heritage committee  It must be a political matter. In addition, it must concern a member of a historically disadvantaged group. The application must concern equality rights.

Canadian Heritage committee  The court challenges program board is set out in its bylaws. There are two representatives from the equality rights groups, two representatives from the language rights groups, one member from the equality rights panel, one representative from the language rights panel, as well as one person appointed by the Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Council of Law Deans.