Official Languages committee  The government is taking steps to make services available. Based on the experiences we’ve had here in the court system, both in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, judges have been capable of hearing cases. Judges have come from elsewhere. There are agreements in this regard with Alberta, and the western provinces.

Official Languages committee  Yes, there is.

Official Languages committee  When it comes to the concept of an obligation to act, when you are a responsible government, any action you take or activities you engage in must make good use of any money allocated for the purpose in question. So it is certainly an underlying factor. There are real and positive measures that must be taken to achieve results.

Official Languages committee  This $145,000 envelope is funnelled through the cultural and community development program. It is bundled in with the $1.6 million managed by the territorial government for the purpose of francophone projects. Obviously, it is not the only money that—

Official Languages committee  Your question is a little technical. I think that it has to do with the duration of the agreement. The Official Languages Act was passed in 1984 and implemented three or four years later. As soon as it was implemented, the government established a cultural and community development plan, and in the ensuing period, $5 million was handed back.

Official Languages committee  We don’t have access to that kind of information. The territorial government reports to the federal government regarding the management of the funds.

Official Languages committee  When it comes to managing the agreement, the federal government works hand in hand with the territorial government as part of a government to government collaborative approach, as they like to put it. We did not take part in the discussions regarding the renewal of the agreement that occurred over recent months.

Official Languages committee  We were consulted once and we put forward a figure. That was a few years back. At that time, we had far more in-depth knowledge of the results, the provision of communications and services in French. We wouldn’t submit the same figure today. At the time, we argued that the $145,000 should be increased to a minimum of $975,000, and we backed this up.

Official Languages committee  We now know what needs to be done to improve communications and provide adequate services, document translation, bilingual positions, and training. For example, interpreters must familiarize themselves with the health care sector and medical jargon. Often, they are not familiar with the more technical terms they should be using.

Official Languages committee  I'll double check. I can’t say that this issue has occupied my full attention over recent months. I remember that Justice Canada and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration were on the list. Unfortunately, I have no clear recollection as to the others, and I don’t wish to mislead you.

Official Languages committee  I must say that the funding for the Société Santé en français is well structured and solid. The money has been flowing for a number of years and even though I've been away for the past 10 months, I think I can safely say that it is a well-oiled machine. The Société does a good job and provides a lot of support in terms of health care services in French.

Official Languages committee  In response to your question, Mr. Godin, I would say that every year we regularly resort to credit. It’s a question of cash flow management. Obviously it is not necessarily a budgetary issue. It is a common cash management problem. It obviously incurs an additional cost, as you’d imagine, but it is a regular practice.

Official Languages committee  You'll have an opportunity to hear from the three employees in question. Their remarks will be far briefer since they will be giving an account of their respective areas of responsibility.

Official Languages committee  I have kept a close eye on this issue. Our offer was for $100,000 more and not $100,000 less. As the president of the federation pointed out in his introduction, there was no consistency between the various federal services. Since we were only small buyers, there were a number of conditions attached to our offer.

Official Languages committee  It was a group with an aboriginal name, a company comprising a number of major proprietors.