I am going to read my second question because it might be a bit complicated.
You expressed your disapproval when a Quebec minister described English as a foreign language. Yet, in the courts of Alberta, when a person speaks French, it is called “foreign language spoken”. Francophones are even required to fill out the legal forms themselves. Even worse, over the past few years, we have seen that French-language statements made by the accused have disappeared from the official transcripts of the hearings.
You have recently refused to deal with a complaint like that. The Criminal Code, which falls under federal jurisdiction, provides for language rights provisions. In the Constitution, the procedure in criminal matters clearly falls under the federal Parliament. In our view, the practice in the courts of Alberta could well be contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Since the federal government is not doing anything to address this serious violation of rights, what do you plan to do to ensure access to justice in Canada's two official languages and to ensure that French is no longer treated as a foreign language in the courts?
I would like to add something else along those lines. Imagine how a francophone in Alberta must feel if, in a case under the Criminal Code, the person sees that the transcript has the English part, but the French part is labelled “foreign language”.
Mr. Fraser, could you comment on that?