Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, June 23, 2008

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A one-stop location to access territorial government programs and services in French has opened in Yellowknife and online.

Services TNO, which stands for Territoires du Nord-Ouest, has been launched as a one-year pilot project.

Two full-time bilingual workers will offer non-specialized, frontline services and information.

Services will be provided to francophones outside of Yellowknife through a toll-free number and website.

At the official opening, Education, Culture and Employment Minister Jackson Lafferty said every government department has been involved in determining how to best offer their programs and services through the new site. The Department of Canadian Heritage has provided funding for the pilot project.

"We have tried to anticipate what services will be required, but we are also prepared to adjust and adapt to the needs of the French community," Lafferty said.

Fernand Denault, president of Federation Franco-Tenoise, attended the opening of the new service.

"We're just happy to see they're taking some steps in the right direction," he said.

The federation recently took the government to court, seeking equal services and communications in French and English.

The Supreme Court of the NWT ruled in the federation's favour. The government has since appealed the decision.