Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It's a pleasure to be here with the members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. I am filling in for a regular member of the committee.
I'd like to take a few minutes to explain how this motion relates to my riding and my experience with the French language.
I am the member for Kings—Hants, in Nova Scotia. I am a very proud Nova Scotia MP.
First, I'll explain the connection between the motion and Mr. Drouin. I chair the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, which Mr. Drouin, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, is also on, of course. When I read the motion, I absolutely felt it was a personal attack against Mr. Drouin. As I see it, the purpose of the motion is, unfortunately, to pick a fight and attack Mr. Drouin personally. That isn't a legitimate use of the committee's time or authority.
I'm extremely proud to be the first member of my family who can speak French. My last name is Blois, which is pronounced differently in French. There is a city in France named Blois. There is even a château of Blois, where I believe French royals vacationed. The first Blois to come to North America was Abraham Blois, a soldier in the British Army. The relationship between the French language and the Blois family is problematic, of course, because that connection was probably lost following the Norman invasion of England. I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think it's likely that Abraham and Sarah Blois spoke French when they came to North America.
I am also extremely proud because, when I came to Ottawa, I wasn't all that proficient in French. Now, I'm speaking to my fellow members on the Standing Committee on Official Languages. My French isn't perfect, of course, but I think it's good enough to discuss and debate this motion.
I completely agree with what Mr. Samson, Mr. Iacono and Mr. Serré said about how the Conservative and Bloc members put forward this motion. Across Canada, many issues and initiatives are important for the French language. I believe that, prior to this motion, the committee was studying the importance of French and the challenges facing Canada's francophone colleges and universities.
I want to talk about my riding, because I want my fellow members to keep in mind that no one in my family speaks French. When I'm in Kings—Hants, it's hard to have a conversation with anyone in French, since most of the people in my riding, 90%, are English speakers. It can be hard, but it's necessary. I picked up a bit of French in high school, in Nova Scotia.
I think the Standing Committee on Official Languages would be better off using its time studying the Government of Canada's methods, initiatives and obligations, so as to improve the status of French and find ways to encourage other Canadians to learn French. We need to train teachers if we want to improve the status of French across the country.
Here's another anecdote, which has to do with the motion, of course. In 2012, I was a competitive athlete, a fastball pitcher. In 2011, I was on Nova Scotia's team, and we won the Canadian championships. The next year, though, Nova Scotia didn't send a team to the championships, so I called the coach of Quebec's team to ask whether we could play on that team in the Canadian championships.
I was able to speak a little French, because, as I said, I had taken some classes in high school. I spent three weeks in the Bellechasse region. My colleagues from Quebec may be familiar with the area, which Dominique Vien represents. It's a lovely region.