Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Fraser. I've previously had occasion to ask you questions about education, which I think is of prime importance. I would like to go back to that issue since one of the subjects under study by our committee in the coming weeks and month will be the role of secondary and postsecondary institutions in promoting bilingualism. I have two questions for you.
I note that the first action plan on official languages had a goal of doubling the proportion of high school students who could function in both official languages by 2013--in about four years. Can you tell us if we're on track to meeting this goal, and if not, why not?
My second question relates to your opening remarks. You said that the renewal of the public service provides an excellent opportunity to enhance bilingualism in the public service. As I remarked before, the Government of Canada is the single largest employer in the country. Across our public service--crown corporations, agencies, military--I believe we employ close to half a million Canadians. And yet during a time of generational transformation of the public service, we're not getting the graduates we need from Canadian universities and colleges. Many of them, if not most, cannot speak both official languages. Hence we have a need, as a government, to invest massive resources in training these newly hired university graduates in the second language.
Can you tell us what efforts are being made within the Government of Canada to encourage universities to produce the graduates we need? If no efforts are being made, can you tell us why not?