I will begin with you, Mr. Séror.
I listened closely to your presentation. You talked about how important languages are for humanity, and also about intercomprehension, a term I had never heard before, I believe. You mentioned provisions in a variety of agreements that were signed in the north, in the territories, including Nunavut. Melissa referred to article 13 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in which United Nations member states are called upon to take all possible measures to ensure that indigenous peoples can be understood in various institutions, including political ones. Coincidentally, Call to Action number 13 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada speaks of indigenous languages as being ancestral rights under the Constitution.
What I'm interested in—and you touched on this—are the effects the recognition of an indigenous language has on the communities that speak this language. Clearly, they will be positive if the use of the language is recognized in an institution such as the Parliament of Canada.
I would like this process to be more than symbolic. That is important to me. Can you tell us more about the positive effects it would have?
I believe you said that indigenous languages should perhaps have the same status as English and French, the country's two official languages. I often raise this issue, and I would like you to expand on it. The effects—I'm referring to the positive effects on indigenous languages—would be more than just symbolic.