I'll just make a few points. I won't be very long.
I think this whole discussion that I'm hearing, mostly from the other side of the room, is focusing on the interests of the legal profession and the judiciary and what is in their interests. Our role as parliamentarians is to pass laws that are in the interests of our communities and our citizens. They're our absolute, primary, first consideration. It seems to me that every Canadian has the right to expect that if they have a case that ends up in front of the Supreme Court, it will be heard by judges who understand fully what is being said.
There was a reference to Italy. I was in Italy this spring. I believe our interpreters are among the best in the world just because of the experiences I've had in various parts of the world using interpretation. But it happens that they make mistakes. They misinterpret.
In one session, we had a university professor who was more than a little long-winded. He went on--I timed it--for the better part of a minute, a minute and a half, and the interpretation lasted for about six or seven words.
So that happens from time to time. We can't rely on guaranteeing to our citizens that interpretation will always be the best.
The other point I want to make, Mr. Chair, and this is specifically to Mr. Rathgeber, is that I've now sat through the last four appointments to the Supreme Court. I think I've said this before, but I want to repeat it, because obviously Mr. Rathgeber didn't hear me the last time I said this. None of those appointments were from Quebec. The breakdown is one from the Maritimes, three from Quebec, three from Ontario, and two from the west and the territories.
So I've sat through the last four appointments that came from the other three regions and not from Quebec. In each one of those cases, in each one, we had more than enough qualified candidates who were fluent in both official languages. And I mean fluent in both official languages; all of them who were judges—not all of them were—at the lower court were already conducting trials.
That included candidates from your province, Mr. Rathgeber.
So it's not a question of availability of qualified candidates. That's not a fear we need to have, because they're there.
I want to conclude by echoing Mr. Lemay's point about the leadership that I think we will see coming from this bill being passed and brought into law. I'm going to use my own law school as an example. There's discussion going on at my law school to begin to teach some courses in French. We're not a bilingual law school at all, at this point, but there is some discussion about that happening.
I think if we pass this law and actually get it into effect as a full amendment to the current legislation for the Supreme Court, we will begin to see more and more of that. We'll begin to prepare more and more candidates in the legal profession to be able to speak both languages and to function in both languages in our courts.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.