Good morning. Welcome to the 24th meeting of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. This morning it is our pleasure to welcome the Special Advisor on the reshaping of the Official Languages Action Plan, the Honourable Bernard Lord. Allow me to welcome him on behalf of the committee members.
Before going any further, I would like to mention that I was struck by your report's first recommendation on the importance of education for minority-community development. That is an opinion shared by our committee members and it was one of our recommendations.
Without any further delay, I will turn the floor over to our guest. I would like to remind you that you have 10 minutes for your opening remarks, which will be followed by a round of seven-minute questions for each party, followed by five-minute-question rounds.
Mr. Lord, you have the floor.