Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Why are we here? Because the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, disrespected French-speaking Canadians. We are here because the Prime Minister chose to flout the Official Languages Act, because he chose to put a very capable and honourable person in a difficult situation, a person who is unfortunately not fluent in both official languages.
We are here because the Prime Minister chose to play politics with an appointment as important as that of the Governor General, instead of respecting official languages. Francophones across the country and all Quebeckers find that unacceptable. In fact, a survey showed that 71% of Quebeckers felt that the appointment of a unilingual anglophone to the position of governor general was ridiculous and unacceptable.
For all those reasons, we have also tried to get the Standing Committee on Official Languages to adopt a motion criticizing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's lack of transparency regarding the process that led to the appointment of a Governor General who does not speak French in the performance of her duties.
I think it's entirely appropriate that we report our dissatisfaction to the House, out of respect for all French-speaking Canadians. We are talking about a process that led to someone who does not speak both of the country's official languages being appointed to the role of Governor General. It is entirely appropriate and normal for the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates to condemn the situation and report this to the House. We will therefore be supporting the member's motion.