Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for being here, Mr. Fraser.
As a native Franco-Ontarian, I don't necessarily share the rosy outlook I am sensing you have. I am 40 years old, and a large chunk of Franco-Ontarians of my generation have assimilated. I know them; they are my friends. I worked on official languages at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The research points to a serious assimilation problem in the Franco-Ontarian population. One of the biggest struggles in Franco-Ontarian history has to do with the public service and the importance it gives to French.
Something you said worries me. You seem to be holding the francophone public servant accountable for not asking that their language be respected. However, that person isn't necessarily given the tools they need. You spoke with managers, but managers are managers. A culture is in place. You even talked about it. How do we give public servants the tools they need to stand up for their language and make sure their manager respects that choice?