I will not speak for too long. Ever since the Conservatives came to power, ministers have been appearing before the committee for one hour only. I wanted to know if that was still their intention, and it appears to be so.
Three departments, under the Official Languages Act, have specific responsibilities regarding official languages. Those are the Department of Justice, the Department of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, and Treasury Board. We have never seen the President of Treasury Board.
A report was tabled. I agree with Mr. Godin in that we should hear from the minister, and because he has specific responsibility under the act, I think we should spend two hours with him. I know that ministers are busy but once a schedule has been set, the minister can come for two hours. I will agree that he can come when it is convenient for him, but the meeting should last for two hours.