He always teases me because I come from New Brunswick too.
I'd like to say a big thanks to the witnesses. I come from Moncton, New Brunswick, and I'm the member for the riding of Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe. The city of Moncton has a bilingual population: more than one-third of our citizens are Acadian Francophones.
It's interesting to note that the City of Moncton previously had a councillor called Mr. Cyr. At the time, Mayor Jones was completely opposed to bilingualism. This created strong opposition. In 2002, when I was mayor of the city, we passed a motion declaring the city bilingual, which was supported by another councillor by the name of Cyr. So I have a lot of respect for the people who bear that name.
Mr. Cyr, it's very important that our region at least have a bilingualism policy in order to promote a certain level of service in French and to show Anglophones that an official policy on bilingualism is a good thing. I know that the situation is different in British Columbia, because the percentage of people who speak French there is lower than in New Brunswick.
All the members of this committee and in the House of Commons agree that the issue of the rights of Francophones outside Quebec and Anglophones in Quebec is fundamentally important. In addition, the role that you play in promoting minority languages, bilingualism and French-language services has an economic impact in all regions of the province and country. Having a Francophone population and providing it with French-language services is a good thing for immigration and tourism.
Am I right in saying it's a good thing for your career?