Mr. Chairman, it was a fascinating day that we spent in Toronto, and we had representatives from a wide variety of ethnocultural groups, English-speaking and French-speaking. It enabled us to have a better sense of their concerns.
We were also struck, and it confirms the comment the member made, by the degree of interest and support there is for the principle of linguistic duality in Canada. The statistics show, in fact, that there is a higher level of official language bilingualism among people who come from other countries than there is among Canadians who've been here for several generations. I think this shows the degree to which one of the things that attracts immigrants to this country is the concept of linguistic duality. This is not a barrier; this is part--I hate to use the word branding--of the way people identify us as a country in the world.
In terms of the challenge for French language schools in Ontario and in other provinces, there is a study that was done on French language schools in Toronto that showed some really interesting social tensions between franco-Ontarians, who had certain expectations, both linguistic and educational, from the schools--the children of Quebeckers who had moved to Ontario--and often African immigrants who had come from a more rigorous French colonial education tradition.