As for asymmetry, we are talking about two realities—education and the francophonie. It is not news to you that the reality is not the same in Quebec as elsewhere in the country.
We recently went before the Supreme Court to try to resolve the issue of student enrolment. We really respect the fact that the reality is different in Quebec. We mustn't dumb things down by treating everyone the same. When it comes to school boards and access to infrastructure, I have given you a good number of examples where everyone was treated equally. But this is rather a matter of determining what Quebec's needs are and what the needs of francophones outside Quebec are. Those two are not diametrically opposed, but some approaches or community realities are different. So if you are asking me whether asymmetry is really the path to take, I would say that the answer is yes. We would even like that asymmetry to apply to what we are asking for.
Of all the school boards from across the country, we are alone in being protected in terms of education. Colleagues from the Quebec English School Boards Association told me that they have decided to approach the government about what they want to do.
Regarding government funding for our school boards, I think it is easier to come to an understanding with a single province. In the case of Quebec, Canadian Heritage is interacting specifically with that province and talking about its priorities in education with a single department of education. It's far from easy to interact with all the other provinces and territories, especially since their approaches are very different. That's where we advocate some sort of asymmetry.
We are not asking that Quebec be included in an all-party agreement covering education from kindergarten to year 12. We talked about the mother tongue from kindergarten to year 12 outside Quebec. It goes without saying that Quebec's approach will be different, and that's not a problem. The reality, however, is not different.