Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Could Mr. Lemieux wait for his turn, please? Could he please let me speak? I would appreciate it if everyone had a turn, particularly since I haven't said a word so far. You may say whatever you like, Mr. Lemieux, to defend what you said a few moments ago, but the fact remains that you did say it.
Whether we are talking about Hockey Canada or Sport Canada, a person is not automatically chosen captain because he is the best athlete. Some individuals are thrown out or disciplined for less. We have to take the situation into account, since this is the Official Languages Committee, and its job is to do everything it can to ensure that the official languages, both English and French, are respected in this country.
In light of such negative comments about one of the two communities, we have to do our job and be big enough people to tell this individual that he is going to have to sit on the bench, no matter how good an athlete he may be. It is really too bad. The prestige of being the team captain will go to people who do not have this type of ambiguous attitude.
It is deplorable to have to hear comments of this type here at this committee. This is not Sport Canada or some language branch, but rather the Committee on Official Languages. Whether we are talking about Sport Canada, Hockey Canada or any other federal institution, we must defend the official languages and ensure that both communities are respected. That is what we should be working toward. We cannot behave as though the official languages are important some of the time and less important the rest of the time. They are important all of the time. We are supposed to be defending the official languages all the time, we are supposed to ensure that anglophones in Quebec are defended and that francophones living outside Quebec have their rightful place and are convinced that their government and their members of Parliament are defending them. We cannot pass the buck and say we accept this situation just because the person is a good athlete, regardless of his opinions, and regardless of what he may have said or the controversy that it caused.
As I was saying earlier, people have been disciplined or been benched or dismissed for less. Today we are talking about the World Ice Hockey Championships, at which the country is represented by men who are very good at their sport. One thing is certain: the captain of the team must deserve to hold that position. All Canadians, not just some, must be convinced that he deserves this honour. The allegations we are hearing at the moment raise enough doubts for people to conclude that the wrong decision was made. If at a future championship the ambiguity and doubt have disappeared, perhaps this person could be appointed captain. But what is going on at the moment is unacceptable, and it is unacceptable to hear the decisions made by the authorities being defended at the Official Languages Committee.