Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First, on behalf of the New Democratic Party and myself, I would like to offer my condolences to the families of the fishermen who perished on L'Acadien II. As the member for Acadie—Bathurst, in northeastern New Brunswick, I know that many fishermen go to sea every day. We've had the misfortune to lose a number of them. I can understand the situation of the families, particularly since we've just had a tragedy in Bathurst. Seven young people and a teacher lost their lives in January.
However, we must keep in mind why we are holding this meeting today, which is to study bilingualism within the Canadian Coast Guard. The questions concerning L'Acadien II have already been asked, and I would like us now to focus on bilingualism. This morning, you submitted an accurate retranscription of the conversation that took place between Mr. Aucoin's mother and the Coast Guard. Do you agree on that?
We asked you to appear in order to tell us about bilingualism within the Coast Guard. However, we read the following in the French version of the transcript:
Mother - Bonjour vous parlez français? JRCC Watch Officer - Oui
The document that you've submitted to us isn't in French; it's a translation of an English document. That simple fact shows a real lack of respect for the official languages. You dared appear before the Official Languages Committee with a document the French version of which does not even contain the word “mère” and in which the officer's title hasn't been translated. I would like you to take note of that.
Furthermore, Mr. Da Pont, you mentioned services provided where numbers warrant, and you mentioned a figure of 5%. I believe you said that numbers in St. John's, Newfoundland, didn't warrant such services and that people had to call from Quebec. Is that correct?