Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for your concern in this regard, Mr. St-Cyr.
Obviously, both of us strongly support the Official Languages Act. I clearly told the members of my department and those of all the agencies, including the IRB, that we expect the agencies to comply with the Official Languages Act.
It is possible that there may be an appeal to the Federal Court. As minister, I cannot comment on a case that is before the court for reasons you know very well. The proceeding is under way.
I have commented on the basic facts of the case with the IRB. Counsel requested at the outset that English be the language of proceeding. At that time, he had accepted all the documents in English. It was therefore counsel's decision on behalf of the applicant to accept all the documents in English, and they were all provided. I believe the IRB subsequently decided to change the language of proceeding at counsel's request. At that point, the documents were therefore provided in French.
Perhaps the matter should be taken up before the Federal Court. In the event it is, I should not make any comments out of respect for the proceeding under way.