I believe that ideological questions are at issue. In addition, and this cannot be denied, the program has two components, a language rights component and an access to equality component. I will not elaborate on access to equality: it is not my topic. As regards the abolition of the Court Challenges Program, I believe the rights that francophone communities fought for and the importance of the program for communities is not widely recognized. There's a lack of sensitivity regarding language rights. In fact, assessments of the program have proven this many times.
First and foremost, the program was very well managed. In addition, the program was inexpensive. Even if we include the access to equality component, the program cost about $5 million, which is a pittance. You're talking about a program which has allowed the country to define itself, but above all a program whose goal was to provide access to democracy. One must understand that those who benefited from the program were generally mothers, parents, and the marginalized, who, without the program, wouldn't have been able to mount a case before the courts.
Was the substance of the program properly understood? Was the program abolished for partisan reasons? Everybody has, at one time or another, been witness to this type of elimination. Mr. Bélanger talked about this earlier. For us, this is a significant loss. In terms of language rights, we feel truly wronged, even more so since the current government passed Bill S-3, which purports to strengthen part VII of the Official Languages Act. We would be remiss to not point out the Conservative Party's lack of consistency.