Thank, Mr. Chairman.
I have a question about the statistics compiled for regions outside Quebec only. I will take New Brunswick as an example, but I think my comments could apply to any other province.
I know that you think that the situation is different in New Brunswick because one third of the population is French speaking. Did these studies focus on the regions, or did they cover the entire province? I will explain what I mean.
There are some francophone villages like Tracadie and Caraquet. However, I know there are doctors in those villages who do not speak French at all. Were any studies done in the Bathurst region, where 80 per cent of the population is francophone?
I am going to mention the example of the former Minister of Health in Mr. Bernard Lord's Government who said—and this disturbed me—that if he were ill, it would not brother him to go to a hospital where only French or only English were spoken, provided he received care. He is lucky to speak both languages. However, the poor individual who is ill and speaks only French would not be able to explain his problem to the doctor. He would be in a bad way if they take out his spleen rather than his ruptured or inflamed appendix.