I would like to start by thanking you for being here today. As the member of Parliament for a riding with a minority language community, I would like to congratulate you on your book Sorry, I Don't Speak French, which is very well researched and very interesting. I appreciate the comments you make in your book.
I am the Member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, a riding that begins beside Orleans and extends right to the Quebec border. There are 65,000 Franco-Ontarians living in my riding. As you know, we are proud of our heritage as Franco-Ontarians. Our community is dynamic and vibrant. As a result, many organizations, associations and programs offer services in French to Franco-Ontarians, and our government supports those efforts.
I hope you will have an opportunity to visit my constituency. It would be a great honour to have you come to see us.
In your book, you suggested some ways of promoting bilingualism and the official languages in Canada. Recently, our government announced agreements on education with all the provinces and territories for a total of one billion dollars. And, two weeks ago, Minister Josée Verner and her colleague, Minister Monte Solberg, announced a strategic plan to encourage francophone immigration. This plan was well received by the official language minority communities.
I would like your views on this type of initiative and other similar initiatives that could strengthen the vitality of official language minority communities.