Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I thank everyone for being here for this important study.
Before I ask my questions, I would like to make a comment.
Mr. Dorion, when you said that the term “students” had been replaced by “school population”, it sent a bit of a chill down my spine. I have to admit that I, too, saw the big dollar sign coming. I think we're losing the philosophy, the mission and the direction.
To the representatives of Canadian Parents for French, I want to say that it always warms my heart to see how many parents in English Canada want their child to learn French. I think that's a good sign. British Columbia is not the province with the largest number of people whose mother tongue or language used at home is French, but there is a huge demand for French courses and immersion schools. Some of my NDP colleagues in British Columbia tell me that some parents get up at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. to go and line up, hoping to be able to find a place for their child in an immersion school so that they can take advantage of that opportunity. I was going to say “opportunité”, but we have to be careful not to anglicize the Standing Committee on Official Languages.
I would like to hear you talk about this movement. You provided some pretty telling figures. Why is this movement so important to the survival and preservation of the French language in Canada and to maintaining the spirit of bilingualism?