Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll begin my comments in French, and then switch to English.
I'd like to begin by saying that we in the NDP believe that the decline of French is a very serious issue in Canada. We need to do everything possible to address it. That's what guides our work on this committee every day, particularly in the context of this bill. We feel that everything possible needs to be done to work with Quebec to ensure that we can do something about this decline. Of course we acknowledge that it needs to be done while protecting the rights of minority language communities.
I will now switch to English.
What I find extremely concerning is that we have before us a Liberal amendment to change a Liberal bill. We have the Liberal government putting forward a historic bill, supposedly to deal with the decline of French and protect linguistic minorities, but for the last three meetings—because this is only our third—we have constantly heard how Liberals want to change this bill. My question is, how did we get to this point? How is it the Liberal government got to the point of putting forward a bill that clearly includes some very serious concerns, concerns that are being shared by Liberal members? I want to acknowledge that I respect those concerns, but how did we get to this point?
We have the minister on the record repeatedly over the last six months, since June, indicating that this is an excellent bill and saying for the longest time that no changes should be made to this bill—none. It was perfect as it was. That's something we have fundamentally disagreed with since the beginning.
I'm incredulous, frankly, about what the Liberals have done up to now on this bill. If this is such a serious concern, as we're hearing it is, how is it they put forward a bill that includes this language? Now we have Liberal members, whom I respect, using the tools we have in front of us to spend a third committee meeting talking about it and telling us how serious this is.
My question is, does the minister agree with you? We've heard for six months that this bill is perfect the way it is. Does the PMO agree with you?
We're now being asked to support an amendment to the government's own bill. To me, this speaks to a larger fundamental question. Again, I respect the challenges raised here in regard to what communities have faced, including communities like mine and the Greek community.
To me, the bigger question is about what the vision of the Liberal Party is when it comes to supporting French in Canada—not just in Quebec but also in Canada—and truly defending and protecting the rights of linguistic minorities. What I see here is no real vision or plan and a lot of political games. That, to me, is concerning in 2023, when, as we know, we have serious challenges ahead of us. This is what we are dealing with in this committee. I want to share my concern, particularly in regard to these political games in front of us, with the greatest respect to every member who has expressed serious concern vis-à-vis this amendment and other things in this bill.
I respect that, but my question is, more broadly, what is the Liberal plan here? More importantly, my concern is that there's no real vision or plan and a lot of reliance on political games.
Thank you.