Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for informing us about the subcommittee's work. We were not at that meeting, as we were not invited. At least we know there have been some productive discussions. You weren't able to submit recommendations, but I'm sure that the work was well done.
Now we'll go back to my amendment. As you know, it was a strategy to reach out to the opposition to find a solution together. In my opinion, the discussion we've been having for probably four weeks should have ended with the vote last week. I would therefore ask the members around the table to act wisely: We must withdraw this motion and get to work.
I also want to congratulate the members who got to work at the last meeting: We heard from the Commissioner of Official Languages, and his important testimony guided us on certain actions related to post-secondary education and the education continuum. So I want to commend the members for that work. In addition, this morning in camera, we discussed the other studies planned in connection with this continuum, which we are still working on.
I think we've reached a turning point. So I'm reaching out to the opposition and suggesting that the motion be withdrawn and that we get on with the work. Organizations across Canada, including anglophones in Quebec, want us to get to work to meet the needs of those communities.
They were in the void for a long time, since they didn't exist under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We referred to section 23 of the charter, which concerns the right to elementary and secondary education in the minority language, and excludes early childhood and post-secondary education.
We have no limits, and we need to get to work to help these organizations. Once again, I'm asking the members, who have been working closely together for years, to take action so that we can fulfill our responsibilities and obligations as members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages.