Ms. Richard, I have a brief question for you.
I have been listening to you for some time. No one is against virtue, we can agree on that. We recognize that bilingualism has existed since 1968, 40 years now, and that it is enshrined in the Charter. Despite that, you will have noticed that even in Quebec, we study in French for as long as possible.
I understand that your experience is different. I am not targeting you, I'm taking a broad perspective. The problem I have is that this bill, despite its good intentions, excludes all lawyers, be they from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nunavut, or certain regions of Quebec who have not had the opportunity to perfect their English as they might have done in major cities like Montreal. It is not just an issue of becoming functionally bilingual, but functionally bilingual on the subject of the law. That is quite a different thing. This bill will exclude many people. Do not try and tell me that is not true, because I will assure you it will be very difficult to convince me, as Mr. Norlock was saying earlier on...
Do you think I want to become a Supreme Court justice? No. Perhaps I do not yet have that desire. After having argued cases for 25 or 30 years, perhaps I will. However, I am not bilingual.