I had the privilege of being in the House when Bill S-3 was adopted; as you were not, certain elements must have escaped you.
To our minds, it is problematic to create a situation of enforceable equality between French and English in Quebec. The Bloc Québécois asked that Quebec be granted an exemption on this matter; our request was refused. We therefore had no choice but to vote against Bill S-3. Our decision was in no way related to our commitment to the French language or to our appreciation of how important this matter is for the various linguistic communities.
Thank you.