We were told that we could not ask any questions on the comments we heard from Air Canada. That's unfortunate, because now would have been the right time to compare your vision to what company representatives have told us. Nevertheless, I will speak in general terms.
Mr. Bélanger said that you need to have the French language coursing through your veins in order to understand what it means to be in a purportedly bilingual country and not be able to receive services in French. I think that that goes to the very heart of the issue as to Air Canada's conduct. Air Canada is acting in this way because Canada is acting in this way.
In my opinion, what happened yesterday and which you did not want to raise, is exactly that. Some people constantly get marginalized because they speak another language, because they act differently, because they are different. I find this to be particularly discouraging. Words get used to subjugate people, regardless of the efforts they may make to remain open, to define themselves and express their will. People are being told that it is not up to them to say who they are. That is exactly what is happening to francophones outside of Quebec. That is what is happening to Quebeckers, and to others.
On every front, we are being subjected to what other people want us to be, regardless of what we may do to get the government to understand that francophones have the right to be served in their own language. As a government, are you going to take the necessary means to make sure this happens? We are constantly being told it cannot be done because it's a question of money or of this, that and the other thing. But elsewhere, in international fora, we pride ourselves on being a bilingual country, while we send ministers who cannot speak French to speak on our behalf.
I do not want to embarrass you by this outburst, but do you sincerely believe it is possible for francophones throughout this country to be equal to anglophones?
