You can consult former service men and women. Now that they can speak, of course. It's funny how hard it is to get any information out of military personnel who haven't yet retired. They are extremely polite, kind, and do what they are asked.
On the other hand, those who are no longer with the service have no qualms about coming to our offices and telling us stories about how bad things are. For example, we were told that on National Defence's big Airbus the film was only screened in English. Now, that's not the end of the world, but it's the kind of thing that gets me a little riled.
It clearly indicates that steps need to be taken to ensure the public is consulted. These people are part of Canadian society. Why should National Defence be excluded? When bill S-3 was enacted, it made these provisions binding instead of declaratory. Don't we have a new tool to help us enforce the act?
I think that we need to add what I am about to say to the record. No one asked the commissioner anything about the anglophone issue at National Defence. We need to try and make sure these two languages are on an equal footing in the workplace. Francophones can't be turned into anglophones and vice versa, but these people should be able to get service in their own language. Right now, this is not the case.
