Mr. Laflamme made quite an impression when he described the incentives as being a good deal. But Mr. Laflamme, you have to be careful when you say that, because within the Francophonie, bilingualism is expensive. It does cost money to provide these services and sometimes governments might think that the price is too high and use that excuse to provide nothing at all. As francophones, we have already paid the price. I like your way of doing things; it made us sit up and take notice. Bilingualism is expensive, but that is the price we have to pay. In some countries, people are fighting for religious freedom. Elsewhere, race is an issue. Here we want to live together peacefully. We want services in our own language. It is expensive, but there is no way around it.
When it comes to research or training that we would like to provide, French-speaking students don't always have access to learning materials in their language. So francophones are once again at a disadvantage. What would you suggest to provide francophones with the same advantages as anglophones?
For example, 62 per cent of francophones in New Brunswick are illiterate. That is unfortunate. Once again, the government wants to cut the budgets to literacy programs, but that is another story.