I am speaking to the motion since I am talking about first-class citizens and official languages in Ontario. I am trying to understand the relevance of conducting such a study.
Mr. Chair, I find it ironic that Mr. Lemieux is lecturing us on jurisdictional issues. Our role is to protect the official languages, regardless of where citizens live. We should move a motion to congratulate Mr. Hill, the mayor of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, and his council. In spite of the member, Mr. Hill has shown how important the official languages are. He should be commended for that. I am looking forward to the next election, so that we can have a member who truly talks about the importance of our official languages.
Mr. Chair, we agree with the motion in principle. Our party created the Official Languages Act. We invested massively in official language programs; we did not make budget cutbacks, as the current government has done. My colleague, Mr. Petit, spoke about the Liberal governments of Ontario and New Brunswick. I know what is motivating the government to ask such questions. However, it is our responsibility to address the issue of jurisdiction.
Allow me to make an aside. We will have to be very careful. In Quebec, public schools are non-denominational. My colleague, Mr. Chong, knows that a constitutional amendment was needed to secularize the public schools in Quebec. However, we have to understand how the agreements are implemented. I would move an amendment to the motion, Mr. Chair. Before talking about the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario... We have received letters and have been calling for some time now on the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages to appear before our committee.
Before hearing from provincial government officials, I would like the minister to come and talk to us about all things related to the official languages. Basically, if we want to talk about an agreement—Mr. Godin seems to agree with me—then we have to broaden the debate on the official languages. Therefore, to state that the Government of Canada...
I am quite fond of our public servants. I have worked with them and have enormous respect for their work, but I believe it is the minister's responsibility. Before dealing with the motion, I would like the analyst to give us some perspective on the matter.
I am ready to support the motion, but I would move an amendment inviting the Minister of Canadian Heritage, not her officials, to explain how the official languages agreement is implemented. We could also discuss the upcoming cut-rate agreement reached with the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne, which should be made public tomorrow.
The Liberal Party of Canada supports the principle, it is the party that created the Official Languages Act. Now, we want to work responsibly within our jurisdiction. We can study pretty much anything we want. We should study what is happening in Russell County and the lack of action on the part of the parliamentary secretary for official languages. I will move a motion to deal with the signage issue in Russell and ask that we invite Mayor Hill to ask him whether it is acceptable for Mr. Galganov to treat francophones as second-class citizens. This is something we can do, Mr. Chair.