Thank you, dear colleague.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Côté, when we hear comments to the effect that we have obligations to NATO and Afghanistan, to National Defence Headquarters, and so on, I think those are nothing more than excuses. I think it's cheap to come up with excuses as to why we cannot give francophones the chance to receive services in their own language.
This means that, for the rest of their lives, francophones will have to live with excuses—that is what the government side seems to be saying. They seem to be saying that because people live in a certain place, pursue a certain career or wish to go somewhere else, they will not have access to services in French, unfortunate though it is.
It is very cheap for the government to even dare say such things. It is as if francophones were less than nothing, and, given what will end up happening at National Defence, francophones will stop having access to services in French.
Don't you find that cheap too?