First, I would like to respond to the first issue raised by the member. If you look at the studies on the vitality of communities, you notice that the issue can be addressed in a different way. I have just come back from Vancouver where a study is being conducted on the vitality of francophone communities in British Columbia. Vitality studies have also been conducted in western provinces. I believe that the studies address the issues raised by the member.
With regard to the right to use French and English within the public service, that is indeed an issue of concern to me. That is why we are conducting a study on leadership and linguistic duality within the workplace; a study that will be completed next fall.
Despite the legislative amendment of 1988, which clearly establishes the right for public servants to use French or English in designated bilingual regions, we have noted that there is no model, no best practices. We can raise the issue and give examples of best practices to encourage the use of French in the workplace. However, we decided to conduct the study in order to identify the nature of the problem and the importance of leadership.