Yes, it is rather ironic. I am part of the Comité consultatif sur les affaires francophones, which works on improving French-language services across the province.
I think that we are making more progress at the provincial level right now than at the federal level because at least the province has a mechanism in place to monitor what is happening. The federal government does not have anything like that.
Those who work in our branches or in a department are often sent to Alberta or Manitoba. Then we have to deal with people in Manitoba or Alberta to get access to those responsible for services.
People who work for the federal government are often bilingual, and they start out working within the French-language network when they are first hired. Then, as they move their way up the ranks of the public service, they disappear. They move to Alberta or Manitoba because they have worked their way up to a management position.
Take, for example, Denis Racine, who is the director general for official languages. He started his career here. Now, he lives in Ottawa. That is good. It means we have a friend there, but services offered by the federal public service in French are deplorable. We have felt that for a long time.