Given the ministerial directives which are at the origin of the creation of the office and which indicate what we should do and how we should do it, up to a point, it's absolutely clear in my mind that we have a mandate to examine these issues. The ministerial directives specifically mention that we must address issues regarding the fair and equitable treatment of members of the Canadian armed forces. So when we see how these people, like those we met in Borden, are treated, it's very clear to me that justice and equity are called into question in a very fundamental way. For my part, I have no doubt whatsoever that we have an important role to play.
Before I talk about the Commissioner of Official Languages, I would add that I am only an ombudsman. An ombudsman—and this is true of all ombudsmen I'm aware of, including the Protecteur du citoyen in Quebec—has no executive power. We can issue recommendations, which I did in my correspondence, and as I do regularly, we can ensure follow-up and if need be, make files and issues public if it's necessary for people on the outside to exert pressure so that things get moving. This has to be stated. That's our mandate, and that's how we fulfil it.
Now with regard to the Commissioner of Official Languages, it goes without saying that he is responsible for enforcing the Official Languages Act and conducting studies and appropriate audits to see what progress has been made by various institutions, including National Defence and the Canadian armed forces, and then for issuing the type of report and taking the type of measures allowed under the Official Languages Act.