Thank you for your question, Ms. Fortier. You have been at the helm of nearly all the battles fought by the Franco-Ontarian community.
I would say the federal government has spoken out from the beginning of this crisis, from the day the Ford government announced this on Thursday, November 15. It has sent a clear message that it will not hesitate to contribute to this fight. Obviously, from a legal standpoint—and I use the word “legal” advisedly—the federal government must be ready for anything, but it cannot interfere. It therefore has to wait for the Ford government to reach out. My challenge for you is to find a political way for the Ford government to do the right thing without losing face.
If this ends up going to court, our objective is not to make the Ontario government lose face. When the initial decision was made, Premier Ford and Minister Mulroney did not intend to cause irreparable harm to the linguistic minority. They may not have anticipated the potential harm when they made the decision, but now they're aware of it, now they're familiar with the reality, and no one can deny the direct result of their decision.
There's nothing wrong with now saying that corrective action must be taken. As for the office of the commissioner, follow-up is needed. As for the Université de l'Ontario français, however, we need to take action as soon as possible, because every day counts. The president, Mr. Labrie, appeared here to explain what his game plan is for the days to come. We need to encourage the Prime Minister to join the discussion to come up with a solution.