Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for appearing before us once again this morning, Mr. Corbeil. I would like to come back to pages 3 and 4 of your presentation. My first question has to do with francophones outside Quebec. If I have any time left over, I may have some questions about anglophones in Quebec.
When we compare the two groups, it is quite clear that there is a constant reduction in the number of francophones and an obvious stability in the number of anglophones in Quebec. There may be many reasons for that. I may be mixing things up a little, but we do know that certain political events occurred in Quebec between 1976 and 1981 that may have given rise to some fears. How else could we explain such a huge exodus of people? A new government had come to power and there was the issue of separation, and these things may have been part of the picture. I do not know whether you have made an in-depth study of the impact this had.
The statistics on francophones living outside Quebec are quite disturbing. I am one myself, I live in New Brunswick. Is this a trend that could be reversed or is this an ongoing trend that means we can expect to see a constant reduction in the number of francophones? There is no doubt that the population of Canada is growing, but not necessarily because of the number of francophones. When we look at the percentages, we might wonder whether it stays the same, but you said there had been a net loss in the number of francophones.
Then this is no longer a question of percentages, because there are really fewer francophones living outside Quebec. From all your analyses, will this trend continue, or can something be done to try to limit it? I know that I could do my part and have more children, but that means that others are not doing their part. Is birth rate the only consideration, or do other factors come into play in this analysis?