Thank you.
There is one topic we have not dealt with much, but it occurs to me to raise it briefly, since there was some talk earlier about communications. Maybe it is because Mr. Colette said earlier that he had worked for Radio-Canada for 25 years. Nevertheless, it prompted a question.
Here, in Edmonton, Mr. Alary told us that Le Franco, which he heads, is the only French-language newspaper in the area. Maybe Mr. Rabinovitch will hear about what I am saying today and read it in the blues.
Why isn't Radio-Canada here today?
The Standing Committee on Official Languages hasn't travelled in its 25-year existence. This is the first time it has traveled, and French Canadian radio isn't here to cover the visit of the Standing Committee on Official Languages in your region. And yet you say that only 15% of francophones use your schools and that you have to try to communicate with those people, to talk to them.
So what is the mandate of our national public television in regions like this one?
Excuse me for saying so, but it's not just taxpayers in Quebec or in Montreal, where Radio-Canada has offices, who pay for Radio-Canada; it's all of Canada. Under its mandate, maybe Radio-Canada should have been here today to cover the visit of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, which, for the first time in 25 years, is travelling to meet with minority communities in Canada. I hate saying “minority communities” because we shouldn't define ourselves that way. Ms. Barbot said it quite well; we are a people recognized in the Official Languages Act.
Perhaps that will draw some comment.