Mr. Chairman, we're talking about money. According to the research, the Action Plan is working very well. But it was said that the Action Plan would create additional regular minority language instruction programs. However, we realize thatwe're ultimately short $132 million. It was promised that a total of $209 million would be allocated to the Action Plan by March 2008, but the government allocated $256 million. It could thump its chest and say that it had been kind because it gave nearly $50 million more to provide minority language education.
However, you have to study the Action Plan. The government says it's not true. I challenge it to contradict those figures. In my opinion, those are the right figures. They were compiled and checked by the Library of Parliament.
From 2003 to 2007, the regular program suffered such cuts that, instead of $724 million, it received $544 million. So it's short $132 million. I don't hear one province criticizing the loss suffered in the regular programs; I don't hear a single word. No university has said a word. In fact, we're talking about minority language education. No school in Canada is lamenting the fact.
Everywhere we go, people tell us they need that money. For example, the Francophone minorities want young people to learn English; they want child care in the schools so that youths can benefit from it. The Anglophone group Canadian Parents for French came to meet us a number of times and told us that there weren't enough immersion schools, that teachers were lacking and that parents wanted their children to learn French.
The bilingualism problem would be solved in 12 years if we went back to square one and started providing education at the beginning. I support Mr. Chong, who laments this fact all the time, saying that we should put the emphasis on education.
I agree with you, Mr. Chong.
In the meantime, the public service has a job to do to help its employees keep their jobs and learn both languages.
I believe I've said enough. I'm going to leave you some time. Then I'll have to leave because I have an important meeting. I don't mean by that that yours isn't important, but the other is as well.