Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I certainly appreciate the dedication the Bloc always shows to protecting language rights in both official languages and I share that concern. However, I think there's an unintended consequence there when we're dealing with the miscarriage of justice commission. The draft legislation we have before us says that the appointment of commissioners should take into account diversity and take into account those who are overrepresented in the justice system. I think Mr. Fortin's amendment inadvertently excludes, for instance, unilingual francophones. In the case of Quebec, we have many indigenous nations that speak French or, for instance, Cree, and they would be excluded from serving on this commission. I think there is an unintended consequence by applying the very narrow requirement of being able to function in both official languages in this case. I would hate to see indigenous lawyers who, as in my example, are Cree- and French-speaking not being able to serve on such a commission.
The commission, elsewhere the bill, requires bilingual services and requires translation services, so this will be a commission that functions in both official languages. However, when we're appointing nine commissioners, some of them full-time and some of them part-time, I think this narrows the field too much. Certainly, if I also apply it to British Columbia, there are very few indigenous lawyers to start with and there are very few who are fluent in French, English and their indigenous language. There are many who are fluent in their indigenous language and English and, in Quebec, many who are fluent in their indigenous language and French.
With respect, I think Mr. Fortin's amendment in this particular case creates an unintended consequence and therefore I will vote against it.