Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think you've all received the text of my proposed amendment.
Before going any further, I will say that we are wasting time and that official language minority community organizations are yet again paying the price.
At MP Angelo Iacono's initiative, a motion was moved on Tuesday while Statistics Canada witnesses were present.
I'm reaching out with both hands, as I did mention previously.
First of all, I invite Mr. Iacono to withdraw his motion, or to accept the amendment I am now proposing.
The amendment reads as follows:
That the motion be amended by deleting the first paragraph, by replacing the words “request that the MP for Brantford—Brant apologises in the House” with the words “accept the MP for Brantford—Brant's apologies”, and by deleting the last paragraph.
The motion goes on to say:
That the Committee recognises that French is just as important to Canada’s bilingual status as English, and that French is indispensable to the Canadian identity;
That is our proposed amendment, Mr. Chair.
I could draw out the debate and repeat what has already been said. I could add further arguments, but in order to be consistent and act in the interest of the official language communities that wish to participate in the study on the minority-language education continuum, I will now stop speaking.