Mr. Chair, first I want to say that I'm very happy to be learning French. It's a new language for me, but I've made some very real progress and I intend to keep working at it.
Parliamentary privilege allows members to speak in the language of their choice. When highly technical subjects are involved, it's essential for me to be able to explain myself in my first language.
All of this said, I will continue to work to improve my French. If the honourable member would like to engage me in that practice as some of his colleagues do, I would—