I do not know who is advising the government at the moment, but it has gone completely off the rails. First of all, it is not adhering to the fundamental principle of Bill S-3, which is to hold consultations. There are perhaps other ways of working, other ways of doing it, but we've been told about cuts, forecasts and things of which we are not aware, and about which we were not consulted. The purpose of this act is to really have consultations and to develop partnerships with the minority francophone communities in the country. Acting as they have goes completely against the basic principle underlying this act. I find this incomprehensible and unfortunate for the Acadian and francophone population and minorities in Canada. What is happening is senseless. We are really devastated by it. We are prepared to cooperate and to look into ways that we can work together, but we need to be consulted. You can't make budget cuts to Canada's francophone minorities on this scale without working with them. It demonstrates a deplorable level of awareness and a lack of information.
On November 7th, 2006. See this statement in context.