We're all troubled by the populist movement around the world. Everyone has his or her own interpretation of what's happening. I think people in that group feel detached and not heard. They don't feel they're part of the decision-making process.
Yesterday, I was listening to an excerpt from an interview that former Prime Minister Harper gave on the subject of populism.
These people don't understand the issues of free trade and markets. They're detached, troubled and dissatisfied and therefore advocate simplistic solutions for complex issues.
Here at home, that results in the resentment of official languages, which has always existed in a small segment of the population. Now, perhaps people are a little more attentive because of this populist movement, which aims to solve everyone's problems in a simplistic manner. Official bilingualism has often been an easy target for these people. Social media provide forums where they can exchange ideas.
So if we want to approach these people, and if we want them to understand the situation more clearly, we'll have to demystify a lot of things. Myths persist. Earlier we talked about billions of dollars in spending, but you also have to talk about the benefits.
The Conference Board of Canada recently published a study stating that the contribution of bilingualism to Canada and Ontario amounts to billions of dollars.
I think one feature of a democratic system is that we continue to dialogue with people who consider these questions.
Perhaps we'll have to find better tools because this populist movement. We don't know it well. We're learning on the go. I've found that a little more difficult since I came back five years ago as a result of that movement. We can't give up if we want a society that holds together, that acknowledges the value of everyone, of the ethnic communities, the official language communities and so on. We'll have to continue talking about this. So I don't have a solution.