Official Languages committee  Those who attended English mass continued to do so. They continued to have services in English, because their community is English-speaking. They told me that they would not go to mass in French, because the people they know are Anglophone.

Official Languages committee  Of those who attend, there are a lot of people from provinces other than Quebec. I began to appreciate the importance of the Francophonie when I came here. People tend to think that there are Francophones in Quebec, and that Francophones elsewhere in Canada are from Quebec, but that is not the case.

Official Languages committee  Yes, as well. There are exogamous or Francophile families who choose to come to mass in French, because the Francophone culture and faith are closely connected. They feel that this way of expressing their faith resonates more for them as well.

Official Languages committee  Financially speaking, we know that we will never receive any money, but in terms of recognizing the language, for the benefit of Francophones in hospital or elderly Francophones in a seniors' home, I would like the staff of these institutions to be embarrassed to have to say that they do not provide services in French.

Official Languages committee  Every week, there are between 45 and 60 people who come to church; it varies considerably. The age of those who attend also varies. Certain Sundays, there may be 18 or 20 children under the age of five among the 45 or 50 people. I can't say that there is renewed spirituality, but those who come are people who are returning to something they had abandoned, are affected by the beauty or grandeur of what they see here, or are seeking a community to be able to share that.

Official Languages committee  Good afternoon. Thank you very much for giving us this opportunity to share with you our experience of life in French here. I hope this will be helpful to you. We have prepared an overview of who we are, what we do, what we're experiencing and how we deal with it. If this brings grist to the mill, that will be a good thing.