Mr. Chair, I think Mr. Dion did a spectacular job on the official languages file when he was responsible for it. You can think whatever you want about Mr. Dion on other issues, but he did an absolutely remarkable job on official languages.
If I understand correctly, however, his success depended more particularly on his privileged relationship with the prime minister of the time. That was one of the reasons, but not the only one, why I cited Senator Pierre De Bané in my presentation on the subject of Gérard Pelletier's privileged relationship with the prime minister of that time.
The official languages file should not depend on good relations between key ministers and the prime minister. Sometimes that works well, as in Mr. Pelletier's time and that of Mr. Dion, but sometimes it works very poorly. The communities need certainty, which also benefits the Government of Canada and its institutions. That's why, in my professional opinion, a central agency, the Treasury Board in this instance, should be empowered and given a mandate.