I think we need to distinguish between two types of policy. On the one hand, the recognition of the right to minority-language education, found in the Constitution Act of 1982, has created a foundation that may not be as secure as it could be, but still ensures important fundamental rights. What's more, it is the main source of provincial spending on minority language policy.
On the other hand, federal policy creates opportunities for French-speaking minorities outside Quebec—they are often more bilingual than French-speaking Quebeckers—to work for the federal government in Ottawa. We see this quite often. So these opportunities further the maintenance of the French language, and that's interesting, in my view.
We were talking about Spanish and French. What about our international trade policy of opening up to different countries? Surely, being open to Africa is positive, but let's be honest, English is the language of international trade. So that's much less important.
I would say to you that maintaining human capital through basic education rights is the interesting question that is never really asked. You'd have to look at the interaction between post-secondary training in French and the use of human and linguistic capital in the labour market. This question, I think, has perhaps not been studied. Yet the federal government could do so; it has a certain role in post-secondary education through research funds, or via your committee.