Official Languages committee  I appreciate the question. It is clear that you have understood what we were saying earlier. We are proud to be accountable. We are proud to be able to manage the budgets that we are given and do it responsibly. The volunteers are proud and everyone is in the same boat, it is part of the learning curve, etc.

Official Languages committee  The laws have been translated, but they are not being respected. We feel that things should be simpler because we come under federal jurisdiction. It would be logical to think that it would be easier to exercise some influence, and that we would have a little more clout, but there is no evidence of that.

Official Languages committee  That is supposed to be the case, but I don't live there. You would have to ask the representative.

Official Languages committee  We suppose that it is being done. The Northwest Territories' obligations were transferred to Nunavut when it was created. In Nunavut, French and English are on the same legal and constitutional footing.

Official Languages committee  Our committee analyzed the needs of the whole community and made recommendations at our annual general meeting. That was part of a mechanism that had been accepted. It was a pilot project that was seen in a positive light by all francophone and Acadian communities throughout the country.

Official Languages committee  You mentioned the issue of national unity at the start of your presentation. It is a very important subject we think about often. We can all see what is happening across the country, and we frankly believe that if francophone citizens and their rights were respected, and if they were treated the same way as anglophone citizens, we would not have a national unity problem.

Official Languages committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  Our case may be an extreme one. I must point this out so that it's clear: we're putting our cards on the table here, this is no place to hide things. Right now, one of your institutions, namely the Government of the Northwest Territories, which is included in the structure of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, has a Supreme Court ruling against the Northwest Territories for systemic discrimination against its francophone citizens.

Official Languages committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  In fact, you have an advantage in the north, in the Northwest Territories, because this is an infrastructure, a creation of your Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and an institution of this House. You already have data within your government that allows you to obtain the necessary information on the particular characteristics of the north.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen. I was going to say “ladies”, but I noticed that there are no ladies around the table. Perhaps that is something which could be improved. The first thing I would like to say concerns the renewal date of the Canada-community agreement. The 1999-2004 agreement expired at the end of March 2004.