The problem with a complaints process is that it puts us in the position of being complainers. We have been complaining for hundreds of years. We are tired of complaining and we want to start building. I have nothing against a complaints process but that is not a solution in itself. I think that we have to allow for—and that may involve proactive measures—the community working together with the public service and creating models.
I was visiting my aunt in Saint-Pierre a few days ago. There was a French services centre in the village, that is also home to three levels of government. My 89-year-old aunt told me how nice it is to be able to go there and speak French, to not have to worry about whether one will be spoken to in French or in English. That may not strike you has being very significant but imagine how it feels to an 89-year-old woman who has lived her whole life in Manitoba where French was not considered to be a legitimate language. That only changed in 1957.
Approaching the government in French constitutes a huge challenge. I think we need to recognize the psychological circumstances in which our communities are linving and, unfortunately, I think that the complaints process only reinforces what we are trying to get rid of. We are in a position to build the country and we are constantly being told that if something does not work we just need to complain. That is not what we want to do. We want to be leaders and we want to build, we don't want to whine.