Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I'd like to thank you for appearing before the committee for the third time. Apparently, it takes 28 meetings before the government side hears the message, which means that we still have a few meetings to go. This is called advertising. It takes time before it works. Coca-Cola didn't sell its first bottle on the first day. I want to thank you.
When it comes to minorities, we are trying to change the terminology. We no longer want to use the word "minority"; we are a people. I think that this has already been well said: if Confederation happened, it's because two peoples came together. We want people to stop seeing us as a second-class group or a group that always has to fight. It's unfortunate that we still have to do so.
Ms. Lalonde, I want to really thank you on behalf of Canadian Francophones for the work that you have done with your team to save Montfort Hospital. Personally, one day, I gave a short speech at Montfort Hospital. I will always remember this. The fact that you fought for this cause was quite simply incredible. It wasn't easy.
In New Brunswick, the government wanted to do the same thing, in other words, shut down the schools in Saint-Sauveur. Mistakes were made. Police officers hit people on the head, people who weren't even part of the protest. In Quebec, a magazine said that it was police brutality, that there was blood on the hood of a car. It was incredible to see the government acting like this. Once again, these were French schools. Quite recently, hospitals were closed in Caraquet, Lamèque and Dalhousie. The government wants to build small local clinics and take away from communities their means of meeting health care needs. Battles are still being fought.
I keep asking myself this question. Why did the government make the decision without talking to you about it? It's as if it had already made this decision while it was still in opposition. We can only speculate. Something must have instigated this situation. Sometimes the government tells us not to worry, that it might table legislation in the fall. At present, a motion by a Conservative member, a government member, is demanding that something be done for Francophones. I think they're completely mixed up. Something somewhere is bothering them. Is it because the Court Challenges Program funded the same-sex marriage case? Is that the problem? Is there just one reason behind this decision? Do they want to take away the rights of one group in particular and have everybody pay? Is that the problem?
I would like to hear your opinion. I think that you must have an opinion. The Court Challenges Program has existed for a long time. You should know whether the program refused to give money to a majority opposed to a minority. Did someone ask for funding and didn't get it? Is it because, when the Conservatives were in the opposition, they weren't happy? Is it because they said that if they ever became the government, the program would have to go? I'd like to know your opinion on this subject.