I say it often.
French immersion was the biggest gift my parents gave me. French has truly been the fil conducteur throughout my professional career.
I'm a child of Indian immigrants. I was born in the U.S. and started French immersion in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I did it all the way through. I completed French immersion in high school in Edmonton, Alberta. This shows that French immersion works in the western part of the country, too. Then I pursued my post-secondary studies at Campus Saint-Jean in political science and history. That's a completely French degree. I did almost 100% of my studies in French.
Obviously, there are issues accessing post-secondary in French, which this committee is studying. I'm glad to hear that and hope we can solve those issues, so folks can do 100% of their post-secondary in French.
The opportunities that have come from having French have been so many. Most recently—last year—I completed the parliamentary internship program here at the House of Commons. I got to work with a member of the government and the opposition in a program that's bilingual. I wouldn't have gotten to do that—move to Ottawa and work in French. So many opportunities like that have been truly enriching.