Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for your presentations, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Dupuis. It's very useful.
When we hear you speak about the organizations and the results of your study, we understand that the situation is serious.
Let's go back to 1971, to the early days of the Official Languages Act. At that time, outside Quebec, the percentage of French spoken at home was 4.3%. In 2016, this percentage was 2.3%. Statistics Canada predicts that, by 2036, 1.8% of the population outside Quebec will be French-speaking.
Just look at the status of French in British Columbia schools. There have been Supreme Court victories. However, it's necessary to keep returning to court to get the judgments enforced. We must have a realistic picture of the situation if we want to see change. Reversing this trend will require major changes. I want to hear your views on this issue.
One factor at stake is the “where numbers warrant” principle. It's completely absurd. When the use of the French language declines in a given area, French-language services are cut back. This requires an imaginative approach to find criteria to inflate the numbers. However, when the numbers are inflated, it gives the impression that everything is fine. The “where numbers warrant” criterion should be changed so that services are available to combat the decline of French and not cut back in response to a decline.
What are your thoughts on this?