Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.
First of all, I would like to tell you that this is my last session at the Standing Committee on Official Languages. Someone will soon be taking my place.
You know, I have now spent 17 years in Parliament. I have always been associated one way or another with the Standing Committee on Official Languages. One thing I always liked about this committee, was that when we got here, we set aside our partisan hats and worked together quite closely in order to help our communities. Over the last year, the atmosphere has completely changed. I now feel forced to keep my partisan hat on when arriving at the committee. This is most unpleasant.
Over the last year, we have been conducting this useless study of the Roadmap. In fact, we are doing Heritage Canada's job. They did not even have the courage to tell us that when we were starting. They waited until February when we had already done two-thirds of the work.
All this is to say that I had hoped to leave on a positive note and show you a short video. Unfortunately, that will not happen, but I shall certainly share it with my colleagues. I wanted you to see this video because it shows positive things that were accomplished under the Action Plan and the Roadmap. That video was filmed in March by about 40 interns at the Montfort Hospital. They came from across the country and were studying health at Ottawa University and the Cité collégiale. We do hope they will go home and help their communities. This is the product, the fruit if you will, of a few programs managed by the Department of Health and the Consortium national de formation en santé under the Roadmap. I am happy to share it with those who wish to see it.
On that note, Mr. Clément, I noted your recommendations. Thank you.
Mr. Burke, I will visit. I won't wait for the committee to go, because it's not likely to travel, with this attitude, but I certainly have and will continue to visit communities in the English communities in Quebec,
and francophone communities.
I would like to come back from time to time to replace the person who is taking my chair.
I would like to continue by expressing another of my major concerns, if you will permit. For that matter, Mr. Godin partly raised it.
By the way, Mr. Godin, according to my information, 19 offices will close across the country and the number of regions will drop from 5 to 3. The Quebec office will merge with the Maritime provinces' offices. The Ontario office will stay open, whereas the Prairies provinces and British Columbia's offices will merge. I heard that the Vancouver office may be moved to Calgary. We wonder why, but time will tell.
On the issue of immigration, I know that we have gone from 1,500 people to about 1,600 or 1,700 people per year in our communities.
Out of 200,000 immigrants or more per year, do you believe this number is sufficient, Ms. Kenny?