Thank you for the question.
All the departments clearly have obligations under the act. A number of departments administer programs that directly affect official language communities. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Industry Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada, among others, have those types of programs. If each of those departments were to cut 5% from the programs, the cumulative effect on francophone and Acadian communities would be much greater than the intended 5% or 10% cutbacks.
Similarly, a restructuring has repercussions on services to the public. For instance, if Service Canada were to decide tomorrow morning to restructure its services, that could result in the closing of certain service points. Services would then be offered in other ways. We have to be able to provide comparable services at offices designated bilingual and ensure that we have adequate staff providing those services. Therefore, the effect would be much greater.
Currently, there is no one person who calls all the shots. No one has the supreme authority in terms of the Official Languages Act. So, Minister Moore is responsible for a part of the act, the Minister of Justice is responsible for another part, and the same goes for the President of the Treasury Board. Under those conditions, when each department is looking into the issue independently and there is no single leader or supreme authority, it is difficult to see the big picture.