That is how we were able to retain our doctors, nurses and specialists at the Montfort. The board and Gérald Savoie had their work cut out for them, but at least we had that protection.
As far as the university is concerned, the government could tell us today to keep moving forward as planned, to go through with the first year's activities while the case is before the courts. Then, in due course, the University would look at where to go from there if it won its case in court. That would prevent all sorts of problems since the current plan to scrap the university would be stopped in its tracks. It's important to remember that this is an urgent situation.
Secondly, it is important to understand that we have a legal and moral duty to do everything we can to stop this from happening. This project cancellation must not go through.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, this initiative has to be perceived in a positive light. The existence of our linguistic minorities is good news for Canada. The main reason we want Canada to remain bilingual is the tremendous benefit these linguistic minorities represent across Canada. It is an extraordinary example for humanity and all the other countries around the world. People would see that we are capable of respecting our linguistic minorities in a positive manner, which benefits everyone and that we were not just doing this out of obligation to the Constitution, for example.
When we won our case in the Ontario Court of Appeal, Mike Harris and his Conservative government did not appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. They accepted the ruling. In fact, they accepted not only the letter, but also the spirit of the ruling. Someone who does not respect the spirit of a ruling or such and such an order will continue to drag the case through the courts. What we need to realize is that respecting linguistic minorities is good for all of us and that this reality can continue to exist in Canada.