Ms. Boyer, I'm going to try to express this with an image.
On a ship, there's a captain, a sub-captain, assistants and so on. The captain doesn't just ask the crew if this or that has been done, if they've done what they were told to do. The role goes much further than that.
My understanding of the machinery of government is that Treasury Board approves all spending in the country, for example. Unilaterally, it can give instructions to everyone, such as the official languages champions. All kinds of organizations could be involved, not only the Department of Canadian Heritage, but the government as a whole.
When we say that French is taking a beating, that's not an image, that's the reality. I've heard testimony to that effect from people who have experienced it in Ottawa. For example, even if there is only one anglophone among the 10 people in a meeting room, they'll speak English. I won't even mention the appalling mistakes found everywhere on the websites of the various government departments. People say that efforts are being made, but these efforts must be implemented and measured. There are people somewhere who need to have their knuckles rapped.
I've been a member of the Official Languages Committee for eight years, and all we've heard since then is that the current system isn't working. I'm a francophone, and I live in Quebec City, which is probably the most francophone place in Canada. That's not where the problems are. The problems are in Montreal, where there's a large proportion of anglophones, and in all the other regions of the country where francophones live in minority communities.
There are organizations, such as the FCFA, that are begging us to ensure that someone will take the helm to ensure compliance with the Official Languages Act. The Treasury Board should have that role, not the Department of Canadian Heritage. We fully agree that the government should play a leading role in the application of the act and that its offices across Canada should provide all the services required. However, above the Department of Canadian Heritage, there must be someone who can slap them on the wrist if they don't do their job. The FCFA and all the stakeholders across the country aren't the only ones saying so, the Commissioner of Official Languages is also saying so. I'm not making this up.
For years we've been rebuffed in committee and Parliament. All the successive ministers of official languages over the years have been rebuffed because things haven't been going so well. I think there has to be a pilot on the plane, someone who is more officially in charge of the structure. We need to make a fundamental change to what we've been experiencing for the last 50 years. I repeat: in 10 years, or even in five years, we'll have the opportunity to review the act. If we see that it's a total mess, we can make the necessary changes. The bill provides for the possibility of making changes every 10 years, and it's even been suggested that it be every five years.
I'd like to take this opportunity to point out something else. The bill states that once it is passed, regulations will be made to determine what constitutes a region with a strong francophone presence. We're talking about places where services will have to be offered in French. This bothered me because I wondered what factors would be used to determine what constitutes a region with a strong francophone presence or a strong anglophone presence. The bill contains no criteria. There is only a very vague passage, which is open to dangerous interpretation, to some extent.
What we need to do through CPC‑7 is to make the Treasury Board responsible for ensuring the application of the regulations that will be established. Therefore, the Department of Canadian Heritage, which will define these regions, won't be the judge and jury as to its decision and its implementation. There must be an organization above it that will be aware of its decision and that will truly ensure that the rules will be respected and that assessments will be made. The Department of Canadian Heritage cannot be judge and jury in everything it does, as it has been for 50 years. There needs to be a leader in the house. Frankly, I think we're at that point.
This isn't meant to put public servants at fault. I'm not passing judgment on the work they have done to date. What I'm saying is that we need to do better in terms of how we deal with official languages in Canada. We can be more proactive in implementing all of these measures. Again, this is at the request not of the Conservatives or the Liberals, but rather of all the organizations on the ground in Canada.
Let's give it a chance, let's try it, and we'll see. If it doesn't work, there will always be room for change in 10 years.