Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Barton, for being with us this evening.
I looked at the recommendation made by the Century Initiative, and at the recommendations from the Advisory Council on Economic Growth. You were saying earlier that the government didn't act on the Century Initiative recommendation to welcome 450,000 immigrants, and that it had decided to increase the number to 500,000 immigrants. The Century Initiative also suggested that by 2026, the target would represent 1.25% of the Canadian population, which would mean 500,000 people in that year. That amounts to saying that the government is taking things even farther than one of your suggestions. I am saying “your” because you were on the Century Initiative board of directors, as was Mark D. Wiseman.
I further noted that many of the Century Initiative suggestions ended up among those made by the growth council. I'd like to understand why. You, Mr. Wiseman and Mr. Andrew Pickersgill, who helped you, were all involved in the Century Initiative, and many of the people from that organization were also on the growth council. I would therefore like to understand the ties between the two bodies.
Lastly, why is the government implementing, and even going beyond, debatable measures in terms of the preservation and promotion of French?