Thank you.
Welcome. Bienvenue. Huan ying dao wo men de committee.
In my opinion, the most interesting question is the one my colleague Richard Nadeau asked, the “Nadeau question”. He wants to know the assimilation rate for francophones coming to Canada.
If you do not ask the right question, you do not get the right answer. If the question is how to attract francophones who want to keep speaking French in Canada, we get one answer.
But if the question is how to attract francophones who are interested in what Canada has to offer, a good environment, good education, a good economy, equality, and so on, we get a different answer.
Mr. Rempel spoke about the ability to live in a bilingual setting and about the ability to raise children in both languages. My colleague, Mr. Nadeau, asked a question about the assimilation rate.
But we can ask another question: have we really failed if francophones coming to Canada live and work in English, or have we succeeded? Because we have attracted a lot of francophones who will have an influence on the rest of Canada and will teach in the schools where my own children will benefit from their presence. If we ask that question, the answer will be different.
What do you think about that question? How do we define assimilation and what conclusion do you come to?