Yes, I will continue, Mr. Chair. There were discussions outside and I wanted to be sure that everything was being done properly and that everyone was fully aware that we are finally in a public session. That is a relief, I have to say, and I hope it will not be temporary. I hope we are going to be able to continue in the same way. We all feel a little freer to act and no one feels that their parliamentary privilege is under attack.
I was about to read you a passage from the Act about the status and the use of official languages in Canada. The preamble states that the federal government:
…is committed to enhancing the vitality and supporting the development of English and French linguistic minority communities, as an integral part of the two official language communities of Canada, and to fostering full recognition and use of English and French in Canadian society…
I feel that that clearly demonstrates the responsibility we have as parliamentarians. As the preamble mentions, we should support the communities and help them to promote their official language. That includes French, of course, which unfortunately is more and more neglected. The work that the committee undertakes contributes greatly to the achievement of the objectives set out in the Official Languages Act. We gather information through the various studies we decide to conduct. It may be as a result of the contributions of the witness whom we invite to appear. It may be from other topics we want to look at. All our discussions serve to support the development of our communities.
That is one of the reasons why we are asking to be able to continue to make public the decisions that we make here, be they positive or negative. In fact, we must make all our discussions public. The final decision is not the only thing that is important; all the consideration we give, all the points we bring up and the different perspectives that we share also often lead us to a new way of thinking. Canadians also need that information to open their eyes to ways of thinking that they may not have had the opportunity to consider. They want to see all the work we do and to look at various solutions that may be proposed so that they can continue to develop fully and to exist in Canada.
It is extremely difficult for our communities to keep their young people, to continue to have the right to education of an equivalent quality that is really going to meet the needs of the young people, families and the workforce. What we do here contributes greatly to the structures that they want for themselves.
Most of the time, our discussions here directly affect the sensitive issues in the communities. They deal with the topics and the questions that the people are asking themselves as well and they want to see our reports and a new way of looking at things.
As I briefly mentioned—and I will come back to the subject at a little greater length—during the various consultations we held on the subject of the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality, groups raised various issues including receiving stable and ongoing funding for their various programs. It all came back to the various initiatives in the Roadmap. It is an important matter and one we must deal with. We must spend time on the problems that have been raised by the communities, including the problem of funding. Once we have finished consulting witnesses and hearing all the information they have to offer us, the discussions we will have on the issue will be very important.
According to the motion, even if amended, the other discussions that we might have on ways to ensure ongoing funding or on the recommendations that we might make to the government could be held in camera. If that were the case, communities would not be informed about the various discussions and would not even know that we are dealing with the problems that they have raised. We have to keep that in mind, because it will directly affect members of minority communities.
As you know, despite the fact that I have been on this committee only for a short time, I can understand that some discussions have to take place in camera. I am well aware than some things cannot be made public. Some things should be discussed among ourselves, like the selection of witness, for example. I cannot have any objection to our doing those things at the steering committee or among ourselves behind closed doors. We must spend a little time before we hold a meeting in public. We have to give ourselves some latitude and to have the possibility of being very upfront with each other.
But I do not believe that this secret way of operating should apply to all situations where witnesses are not involved. All our discussions on the subjects we want to study concern Canadians directly and should be held openly. We are simply their representatives who have the power to discuss and implement measures that will support the development of the communities. All that involves consultations with the public, informing the public of our position on initiatives that will soon be undertaken. Working behind closed doors will damage our relations with Canadians, with those who elect us.
As I said at the start of my remarks, I am really disappointed to have to discuss this motion, especially because the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality is an important initiative, as I agree it is.