That's a very difficult question, Mr. Carrier.
Neither Mr. Carrier nor I will be making any political comments today; that's quite clear.
However, as for eroding rights, it must be acknowledged that there is a movement. When you let populism settle in and give it a voice, when people express themselves freely, especially on social media, and when a popular fringe becomes noisier and more visible, that takes up public space. If we allow them that public space, most people will obviously feel legitimized and assert their views.
Let's get one thing straight: it's good to express all points of view in a democracy. The idea isn't to censor people or restrict their speech, what they preach and what they believe. However, reality is often somewhat obscured by certain versions of the facts.
What's the issue when people are told that official languages cost billions and billions of dollars? The issue is the truth. It's to make those people understand that this isn't entirely the case and that it would cost more not to offer services in French.
In Ontario, first of all, if a senior goes to the doctor and doesn't understand instructions, returns home and has to go back to the doctor's office or, even worse, to the emergency department, health costs have just tripled.
The same thing applies to mental health and young people. There are many potential situations of this kind. The point of the official languages issue is not just to allow communication in both languages; it's to provide service that's appropriate to those individuals.
When I hear that the office of Manitoba's assistant deputy minister of education is being shut down and the ministry's duties absorbed by the department, it seems to me that sends a strange message. Efficiency concerns are often cited. In that instance, a position that costs $100,000 or $110,000 is being eliminated. Will that really make the government more efficient? The same is true of my office in Ontario. The government wanted to abolish it for reasons of efficiency, but one may well wonder why.