I was appointed Minister of State for Official Languages in 2008. The first thing I did at that time was to organize round tables across the country. I did not just meet with people who have the money to come here to Ottawa, but I also visited Prince Edward Island, Nanaimo in British Columbia, Edmonton, Regina, and so forth.
I toured the country to speak with the people who create these programs locally in their communities. Some are small organizations made up of two, three or four people. I visited them in their communities to find out what their experience had been with my department and with francophone communities.