Official Languages committee  I have to tell you that, when we came into power, the previous position had been to interpret positive measures in a restricted way. That is why I had to change the channel internally by sending those letters to my colleagues, to make sure that we were going to interpret positive measures broadly.

Official Languages committee  I hope that the commissioner of official languages will also interpret it broadly. I have spoken to him about it.

Official Languages committee  Thank you. Obviously, answering the needs and, quite frankly, anxieties of anglophones in Quebec is a top priority, and that's why in the official languages plan we came up with a $5-million support specific to the anglophone community in Quebec. We also fund many youth organizations and organizations that are part of the economic development ecosystem, and we've increased funding for these organizations as well.

Official Languages committee  Obviously, we made sure to make many commitments to our public service to increase the capacity of our public service all across the board. That creates a lot of opportunity, including in Quebec, and it also ensures that there is a greater need to have a bilingual capacity all across Quebec.

Official Languages committee  Well, I think we've had a strong stance in terms of, first, the importance of official bilingualism, and second, the importance of minority linguistic rights, and therefore the rights of anglophones in Quebec as well. We have been clear that we would support the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is obviously an ongoing commitment of our Liberal government.

Official Languages committee  At the moment, there is sufficient financing to support the project. I have had discussions on many occasions with members of the community with a view to finding solutions and exerting pressure on Doug Ford’s Ontario government to make a decision on the matter. I have been able to discuss it on a number of occasions with a good number of former first ministers.

Official Languages committee  I cannot tell you about the discussions that are currently going on with the Department of Justice. It goes without saying that, in the government‘s vision, positive measures must be interpreted broadly. That is why I sent a letter to all my colleagues to make sure that all departments adopt that broad interpretation of the Official Languages Act, particularly in terms of the positive measures in Part VII.

Official Languages committee  I had finished answering your question. Thank you.

Official Languages committee  We are one of the interveners in the case, but I have to say that the decision was made by the former Harper government.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, my dear colleague. You bring up a number of points. For a long time, school boards—principally francophone school boards, but also the anglophone school boards in Quebec—have told us that they are concerned by the lack of transparency in a number of provinces and territories in the way in which federal funds allocated to minority school systems are spent.

Official Languages committee  As you well know, because you follow the matter closely, the biggest issue in official languages is the assimilation of francophones in minority situations, particularly against the background of the demographic growth Canada is experiencing. The calculation method was a problem, in that any given region had to have a sufficient number of people speaking the minority language in order for bilingual services to be provided.

Official Languages committee  We sent two letters to the Government of Ontario. Members of my team communicated with Ms. Mulroney’s office on several occasions. I also had the opportunity to speak with Dyane Adam’s team; she is heading the project. One thing is clear: the Conservative Government of Ontario does not want to fund the Université de l’Ontario français project.

Official Languages committee  I am not the minister responsible for the Broadcasting Act or the CBC.

Official Languages committee  If you also want to invite my colleague, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, I would be pleased to share your intention with him.

Official Languages committee  In terms of how we follow up with official language minority communities, I have already mentioned that we give them money directly. That's part of my responsibility and that is why we have provided a new amount of $500 million over five years. As for the CBC, I would just like to remind you of the obligations of the government and parliamentarians: we must always respect the independence of the CBC.