Thank you, Joe, for letting me speak.
Let me ask a question. I'm also an immigrant to this country, and prior to coming to Canada, I had to deal with three other foreign languages in the places where I lived and studied. What I noticed in my prior experience is that learning a language is driven mainly by economic, cultural, and social necessity. To politically force a language onto a learner is perhaps not the most successful model. However, I realize that in a bilingual country, it is out of national heritage or national prestige that we need to do this.
I definitely agree that a multiple language capability is a step towards better job prospects or even a better clarity of mind in terms of how one deals with the world. But in our increasingly internationalized and smaller world, where our trading partners are also in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and other parts of the world that are not English or French speaking, what is your opinion of adding third languages to improve Canada's ability to be a trading nation internationally?
I'd like to hear your comments on that.