Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you ladies and gentlemen for having come to meet us this morning.
Ms. Beaulieu, thank you for having appropriately asked the question about the vitality of the francophone minority communities. It is true that we often speak about numbers. It is an easy way of trying to understand the phenomenon, and you correctly said that this vitality had more to do with social, economic and cultural dynamism. I think that if we can understand that, we can better see what opportunities present themselves to enable such communities to develop. Everything that you said about this was very eloquent, in so far as these things need to be implemented.
Personally, I would have liked to meet you in a different setting, because you are currently being faced with draconian cuts. If we wish to maintain this vitality, then special efforts need to be made and an action plan needs to be developed to guarantee your "survival". It's unfortunate that this is being threatened.
You will no doubt find no consolation if I tell that it's the same thing for all the groups, not only francophone communities, but also for the women who came to meet us yesterday. A way therefore needs to be found to break down the wall.
My question is for Mr. Cousineau. You spoke about illiteracy. You are living in an environment in which there is illiteracy and a great deal of competition from the English language. You said that 75% of people had responded to the survey in English.
Do you feel that this is strictly something to do with literacy or is there a very direct link between this form of literacy that you are experiencing and the fact that people's English language skills are better ?