Thank you, Mr. Chair.
With all due respect to the conversation taking place here at committee, I'd like to express my concern that we've already devoted about 15 meetings to this bill. We have already heard repeated messages from our witnesses. However, what matters most is the strong desire and clear demand from francophone communities across the country that we move this bill forward much faster than we are now.
I want to recall the words of the FCFA, which issued a statement on November 9 about how long it's taking to study Bill C‑13. We in the NDP take this statement very seriously. It really explains our desire to get this bill moving faster than we are now.
The FCFA statement reads:After six years of work and consultations, the FCFA believes that parliamentarians have everything they need to modernize the Official Languages Act.The decline of the French language, as illustrated by this summer's census data, shows once again how urgently this modernization is needed. More than ever, francophones need a strong, modern law that is respected.The FCFA would like to see Bill C‑13 passed by the House before the end of the year.
I think it's critical that we respect the FCFA's position, which is also the position of several stakeholders who have been communicating the same message over the past few weeks and months. I know we all want to do a good job, a quality job. We all want to propose amendments.
My concern, however, is that the communities on the front lines are clearly telling us what they want. I think it's critical that we, as a committee, respect those requests, act on them and make sure we do our job on this bill and get it back to the House before the holidays.