I'd like to make a brief comment. Members of Parliament are perhaps not bilingual, but they are elected by the people by democratic vote. That is how the public chooses elected officials. Here, we are talking about appointments, and in some cases, conditional appointments. We can debate this, but we've already had this discussion.
Earlier, I asked the minister a question relating to a letter sent by Ms. Louise Aucoin, and dated April 5, 2007. The third paragraph of her letter reads as follows:
The FAGEF wishes to inform you that it remains concerned over clause 531 of the proposed legislation, and its application in New Brunswick. In light of the province's specific linguistic status, the possibility of holding a criminal trial in French must be made available in all territorial ridings of New Brunswick so that the accused will not be obliged to sit his trial in any other territorial riding than the one concerned. The FAGEF would like to see an amendment made to clause 531 of Bill C-23 accordingly.
Have you had a chance to look at this letter?