Yes, absolutely.
Thank you for your remarks. I was very impressed by your fluency in Spanish during debate.
I have been to those awards ceremonies on a number of occasions. It is truly impressive to see the recognition of Latin American contributions to medicine, science, the arts, and culture generally in Canada.
With regard to the discussion that took place with previous bills—certainly with Senator Enverga's first bill and then this incarnation, Bill S-218—he, as you know, was a Filipino Canadian. Spanish was one of the colonial languages, and it's a language that is still used, celebrated, and marked. Some of the most important religious locations for Filipinos, including Filipino Canadians, are actually in Mexico. There's a cathedral in Mexico to which Filipino Canadians and Filipinos from around the world make regular missions to see a painting of the Madonna.
Senator Enverga, in choosing the words “Latin American” rather than the narrower “Hispanic” definition, wanted to speak to all of those people who have been touched by the Spanish language and did not want to exclude the Portuguese language. As I said—