Mr. Chair, let me raise a brief point of information which, I think, is relevant and is in agreement with what Mr. Ménard was saying.
I am not speaking on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association, but this is just a point of information. Last year we succeeded in adopting a provision at the Canadian Bar Association, which is the association that all lawyers belong to across Canada. We succeeded in including in our professional code of ethics a provision whereby from here on in, lawyers, even in private practice—we are not talking about government institutions—are obliged to respect the official language of their client, especially if the client has rights that he can exercise before the court. Therefore, things have evolved enormously at the private level. I think that the message is out and that henceforth both official languages are equal in status and in law, as regards future justices or lawyers who want to become judges. By including this provision in its code, the CBA has recognized the need and the importance of respecting the language of choice of those under the court's jurisdiction.