Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
To continue along the same lines as Mr. Galipeau, I would just like to draw your attention to the motto: “Maintiens le droit”. It is written in French, isn't it? The council in London decided that it should be kept in French. I guess that adding “Gendarmerie royale du Canada”—which, by the way, is shorter than writing “mounted police” in English—would not be such a bad thing. It is a matter of identity.
Mr. Cogan, I would like to point something out. Today, we have been really buttered up. You belong to a type of threesome where you are the fourth wheel not the fifth. As you know, Franco-Ontarians—and I am one of them—have three kinds of slices of bread with a thick layer of jam on. In Hawkesbury, they say: “Ah, que c'est beurré”. In Sudbury, it's “Ça de beurré” and in Haileybury, it's “Elle est beurrée”. RCMP sounds a bit like Hawkesbury, Sudbury, Haileybury. I'd just like to throw that in. I am sure there will be a play at the Théâtre de la Vieille 17 on this.
You said earlier—and that reflects what I am saying: this is a work in progress. It has been 40 years since the act was passed. This is a work in progress! For goodness' sake, it has been a rather long gestation period. I am not sure that we'll get a nice little buffalo out of this, like the one on... In my view, it will be a dragon or a monster instead.
Based on what you are saying, the RCMP respecting the official languages, it's an ongoing struggle. So join the U.S. Coast Guard if you must, but give the RCMP a chance. Use all the necessary tools so that services will actually be in both French and English.
Let's suppose I am being stopped and questioned by an RCMP member—and he has every right to do so—on a highway somewhere in Canada, and that I ask him to talk to me in French. What will happen then? Will he leave me by the side of the road until I freeze or will he go look for someone, somewhere, to provide me with services in French?
When I hear what I am hearing today... There is only one translator for British Columbia, when there are actually a lot of francophones in a minority situation. And not all those francophones are in Vancouver or Victoria. You, Mr. Richer and Mr. Dubeau, are francophones yourselves. Ms. Ferreira and Mr. Cogan also speak French very well. Try this with your colleagues on a Sunday morning, hiding your stuff; try to get services in French. Send people from your staff or third parties. Send Mr. Galipeau if you want; I could also volunteer for this. How will we be received if we ask for services in French?
We are in a situation where people who work in communications—I am thinking specifically of Mr. Shields—say that the French fact scares them to such an extent that, in their opinion, Google Translate will automatically do the trick. Why should we put money in that?
I asked you earlier whether Mr. Shields was still working in the communications department and you said “yes”. We have a serious problem...a communication problem! If the French fact scares him, that means that he is simply not in the right place.
Mr. Dubeau, as a co-champion of official languages and you, Ms. Ferreira, as the director, what does that say to you? Is this a big joke? Were you painted into a corner and were you told to have as much fun as possible because, at the RCMP, it is not important anyway? That's the feeling I'm getting. This morning, we talked about Justin Bell, who was handcuffed because he asked for services in French at the RCMP—services in French! And he was handcuffed.
I feel like him today. I know that, if I went to British Columbia, I would probably end up in handcuffs because I know that, in British Columbia, no one gives a darn anymore about making sure that the RCMP communicates coherently in French and English with anyone entitled to it…