Thank you.
If they tell us to mind our own business, then that might be because this is not within our jurisdiction. The motion is clear:
That the Standing Committee on Official Languages invite the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario and various stakeholders to explain why federal money for French-language instruction is being eliminated from certain schools in Ontario.
I have received letters from people in southern Ontario. In them, principals and teachers indicate that they used to receive money from federal programs, but that that had been cut. They find that regrettable, because those programs allowed anglophones to learn French.
I think that this is a good motion. We will hear federal government officials explain how the funds are distributed. We will also hear from provincial representatives who will tell us why the funding that was granted to those schools was cut. We could also invite school principals, other officials or members of the commission. What reasons were given for eliminating that funding? This way, we could bring the problem into the open.
I am still receiving letters from people who say that it does not make sense. Canadians want a country where they can be served in both official languages. That is what schools were doing by teaching young people another language, and then, all of a sudden, the funding was cut.
The same problem occurred in Nova Scotia. Funds were allocated to Nova Scotia so that it could provide French-language educational services, but it appeared that the money was used for other purposes. A ruckus was raised in Ottawa, and then things came back to normal. The communities received the money that was owing to them. At least, that is what I think happened, given that we did not receive any further complaints.
For all those reasons, I think that the motion is headed in the right direction. We can assess it once we commence our study, and see whether it falls within our jurisdiction. We can perhaps help them out.