Official Languages committee  I think it would be an excellent idea. As far as we are concerned, there is a need. But Jean-François pointed out earlier that two projects were submitted to the federal government--

Official Languages committee  The first was submitted in 1994, I believe, and the other one in 2001.

Official Languages committee  In Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Official Languages committee  As a matter of fact, I wanted to talk about that initiative, but my time for answering was up. I wrote a little note to Mr. Godin, asking him to remind me to talk about it.

Official Languages committee  Absolutely. I will tear up my little note. This is the only program offered by CanNor at this time in support of Francophone development in the North. We are sitting here criticizing CanNor, but I think its officials actually show a lot of openness towards the Francophone community.

Official Languages committee  Exactly.

Official Languages committee  Yes, that would be possible if it were a business, but in our case, as a non-profit organization seeking to provide services to entrepreneurs, it has to be a permanent service. We have to be able to guarantee service to these business people year after year and let them know that we will be there tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the following year.

Official Languages committee  No, when business people are looking to secure a loan or a program, there are no staff persons available who speak French. They would have to call on the services of an interpreter. What we are proposing is to be given the ability to provide that service, to do it on their behalf—which would be perfectly logical—but, for the time being, there is no funding program in place that would allow us to do that.

Official Languages committee  The agency we come under here in the Northwest Territories is CanNor.

Official Languages committee  FedNor is in Ontario, I believe. Here, it's CanNor. At this point, funding--

Official Languages committee  It is the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

Official Languages committee  Yes, CanNor is the equivalent of FedNor, but for the three territories. As Jean-François was saying, this agency was created in 2009, but at the present time, it has no funding program for business services, even though they are considered to be permanent. They cannot simply be random or made available under an annual project; it has to be a permanent service, and CanNor has no program at this time to fund that kind of service.

Official Languages committee  No, it's because of the program structure. There are services in French, yes, but it is the funding programs that pose a problem. The Agency has a vast array of programs, and yet there isn't one that funds permanent programs. It provides project funding. It doesn't have the right to fund programs or permanent or recurring activities and projects year after year.