I would ask you to expedite funding approval for future years more quickly. But let me go on to my last question, about a couple of articles in the paper today that indicate the justice brass is to receive anti-racism training--about 600 managers, I believe. This is not a partisan comment.
Our previous governments didn't have stellar records in integrating visible minorities into the public service. Whether it's provincial or federal, the number of visible minorities is disproportionately lower in the federal civil service and the provincial civil service, at least in British Columbia, where I come from--and we made efforts.
It's not really a question; it's a comment. First of all, I want to thank the department for trying to do what they're doing. But I want to express some shame and embarrassment as a Canadian. We don't think of aboriginal Canadians as visible minorities, but they've been here for hundreds of years. Chinese Canadians and blacks have been here for a long time. Chinese Canadians actually came to this country 165 years ago. Indo-Canadians have been around for over 100 years. The argument that there aren't qualified people in those communities doesn't wash any more. While I thank the department for trying to make the effort to deal with this issue upfront, I am embarrassed as a Canadian that we are so far behind, particularly in the civil service, both federal and provincial.
Minister, I want to encourage you to do more and to do it more quickly.