Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
In the three minutes I have available to me, I would like to make two points.
First of all, Ms. Zarac, we distributed the tables you referred to this morning. If you would like to share that with the organizations that have been requesting this information, I believe you have it in your copy.
Secondly, I have been studying French for 40 years now. I believe I am bilingual. On the other hand, when I am in the House or in committee, I sometimes do not understand the French spoken by some people. In some cultures or regions, the accents are so pronounced that I have trouble understanding. Thanks to simultaneous translation, I am able to understand everything that is said. Mistakes are made at times, but it is much better than just letting the discussion go.
I, too, am opposed to the bill tabled by Mr. Godin. The reality of our country is that we are not ready for this. Yes, we want judges to be bilingual, but there are not enough fully bilingual individuals in the pool.
I would like to come back to what Mr. Coderre said. In fact, last week before the break, a Liberal MP made a joke about the English spoken by one of our ministers from Quebec. It was pitiful. I raised a point of order, asking that she apologize. If Liberals show no respect when they are in the House, what is going to happen in the kinds of situations you mentioned? The language proficiency of candidates for a position on the Supreme Court is tested. I fully agree with you. I am bilingual and proud of it. However, according to this bill, I would not be bilingual enough to apply for the job if I were a lawyer.
I would like to come back to what the Bloc members said. I, too, have some concern when Bloc members have reason to celebrate. At Canadian celebrations, like the ones in honour of our Olympic athletes, the Bloc members were the only ones to not proudly sing the national anthem, in honour of all the athletes, most of whom were from Quebec. Once again, that was pitiful.
Let us talk about reality. We are not really ready, but we are encouraging bilingualism. Right, Minister?