Thank you, Mr. Vice‑Chair. You took the words right out of my mouth. I was just going to allude to that.
That's the technical sidebar.
Witnesses, you have a full hour.
We have two hours for our committee meeting, but we have some committee business to do in camera. However, before that, we can give the witnesses a full hour.
We now have Basile Dorion, former school trustee, as an individual. From Canadian Parents for French, we have Nicole Thibault, executive director, and Mr. Visweswaran, director of public affairs and policy.
I think this is the first time you've appeared before the Standing Committee on Official Languages. The way we operate is that we give each witness or group five minutes to make their opening statement. So there will be five minutes for Mr. Dorion and five minutes for Canadian Parents for French. Then there will be a series of questions from members of the various political parties.
We'll start with Mr. Dorion. I'm very strict about speaking time because the stricter I am, the more questions members will have.
Mr. Dorion, please go ahead. I'll give you five minutes for your opening remarks. If you run out of time, you can use the question round to add what you won't have time to say.