Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
We met with Mr. Corbeil who provided us with statistics from the most recent census. At one point, my words were paraphrased and they were compared to those of other individuals who foresee the end of francophone communities. However I don't think we should be in denial. The reality exists and you're saying that the trend is a strong one.
When I was with Ms. Jeannine Séguin, with the Fédération des francophones hors Québec, and previously with Mr. Hubert Gauthier, a document entitled Les héritiers de Lord Durham had just been published. In that document, the 1971 census showed that minority communities were not doing well from an ethno-linguistic perspective. Things aren't much better today. Statistics Canada's graphs—not mine—show that things are not going very well at all.
Why is this trend pointing down rather than up? What solutions should we be proposing? Before proposing anything we need to consider Quebec's place. This province has been part of the Canadian federation since 1867 and that has not slowed down this trend. Quebec can only act within its own territory, within its constitutional prerogatives. It can't build French schools or hospitals elsewhere. Other provinces, for example, have abolished French schools and wanted to close the Montfort Hospital. That's a rather ugly picture.
Brian Mulroney's government did something that was rather extraordinary. He established Canada-community agreements and invested money in communities, something that no other government had done before. When Jean Chrétien's government came into power, it slashed that funding in half. You're saying, however, that support has to be provided beyond legal funding. If we respect francophone minorities, then we have to make extremely significant language accommodations.
The trend remains a strong one. You're familiar with the historical context. Where is the downward pressure coming from? Shall we use science fiction and just say that federal and provincial jurisdictions don't exist? Otherwise this downward trend will continue.
I would like to hear your comments on this, Mr. Denis and Mr. Thériault.