Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Congratulations, Mr. Fraser. I would like to thank you for being here. I am very glad you were nominated. I think that we will really benefit from the services, in the full sense of the word, of somebody who is thoroughly dedicated to the cause of official languages. And I think that is important.
You mentioned in your presentation that you learned French, which gave you an understanding of what immigrants experience when they come here from another country. Indeed, this is an important factor in relation to learning a second language.
You also referred to your fondness for Quebec, which I myself have developed. This is something we have in common. I think it is also important to stress how language is not dissociable from culture. Culture and language are intrinsically linked. That is not generally understood. This is an important notion to me because what is behind language, at the end of the day, contributes greatly to who we are and what we do.
For example, you compared the terms “public service” in English, and “fonction publique” in French. There is a fundamental difference in what is meant by these two terms. These notions are intrinsic to the relationship between the two languages and between the two communities. What does all this mean? It means that language is not just words, but what lies beneath them.
You also referred to multiculturalism and said that people had trouble accepting such a notion. I think it is because they misunderstand it. I would like you to tell us what you think multiculturalism is and, particularly, what your understanding is of the two concepts of linguistic duality and cultural diversity, in a Canadian context.