We made that recommendation based on statistics provided by Statistics Canada concerning the drop in the percentage of Canadians who are bilingual, Canadians who speak both official languages. We have also seen that over a 10-year period there has been a 24% drop in the number of anglophone students who are studying French as a second language.
As for the use of English and French in the House, any MP or minister has the right to use the official language of his or her choice. The act does not apply. There are no rules that say that a minister must answer a question in the language in which it was asked. That is why, in 1958, simultaneous interpretation was introduced in the House.