As I was saying, sir, I'm disappointed in your opinion and I hope that it is not shared by most legal experts. I refuse to accept that there's no connection between competency and knowledge, on the one hand, and bilingualism, on the other. Mr. Godin pointed out in his testimony that the requirement to be bilingual applied to courts within federal jurisdiction. Therefore if this requirement applies to judges in federal courts that are lower than the Supreme Court, I would think that as parliamentarians we are justified in thinking that it should also apply to Supreme Court judges.
I do not know why you haven't learned French and I don't judge that, but as parliamentarians, it is our duty to say that if Mr. Godin's bill is passed, then all those in the legal profession in Canada who want to be accepted on the bench and be given higher levels of responsibility, in the Supreme Court, for example, will have to learn French, whether they come from Alberta, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan or elsewhere. If, in your case, that requirement had existed, then maybe you would have made the effort to learn French.
I think that Mr. Godin's bill sends a very clear message to the next generation of people of the legal profession. I do not question at all your legal knowledge and I do not doubt that you have served the Supreme Court well, but if that message had been clearer when you were studying law, then perhaps you would have made the effort to learn French.
I would like to hear your opinion on that.