The Minister is lucky that I only have three minutes.
Mr. Chairman, I am not a sovereignist. I am bilingual and proud of it. I just heard the Minister of Canadian Heritage talk about discrimination and division, which is not worthy of the office he holds. I couldn't care less whether the NDP wants to win more seats in Montreal. However, I do not want a Francophone who comes before the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, not to be entitled to natural justice, because of a language and comprehension problem. If that were the case, there would be a problem in this country. You say that the system has worked well for 143 years. If that is so, one may wonder why the Official Languages Act was passed 40 years go. It is exactly the same philosophy. Minister, I find it quite unpleasant to hear this kind of argument—that the sovereignists are trying to divide the country and that we should not support this bill for that reason.
Prior to prorogation, I tabled a private member's bill aimed at ensuring that judges would be able to understand the two official languages. I have been fighting for my country for 25 years now and, as a Quebecker, working to be respected as a Francophone for 25 years.
It seems to me that you are showing the same sensitivity on official language matters as you did when you said that the Vancouver Canucks were the only hockey team that could represent Canada.
But seriously, I note that there is a consensus in the National Assembly. We should also consider what Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé said. You talked a lot about John Major, but why not talk about Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, who is apolitical, and who was an extraordinary lady at the Supreme Court. She knows that when judges are deliberating on a case, there is no translation; the discussion occurs among judges alone. And if a judge does not have the sensitivity or technical ability to defend the viewpoint of a Francophone, for example, we will not meet the goal of ensuring that justice is done when a Francophone comes before the Supreme Court.
Do you not think that, rather than talking about discrimination and division, we should be making a distinction between someone who can understand the two official languages and the idea of requiring that a person be able to express himself in both official languages? There is a very important difference between the two, which means that Francophones will not feel like second-class citizens.