Yet there have been a lot of studies. For a long time, Statistics Canada denied that French was in decline. Now there is some openness to this, which may be why we hear more about it in the public space. Will that last? That remains to be seen.
My next question is for the witnesses from the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
Linguistic requirements in staffing or appointment processes are something we have talked about more than once, so we have to ask why knowledge of French would not be required from the outset. As you said, Ms. Tellier, people who do not speak French are appointed to positions on the condition that they learn it, but in many cases that is not effective. So why not require knowledge of French from the outset?
Mr. Iacono asked earlier how to proceed if no candidates are found. It is a chicken and egg situation. If knowledge of French is required, people will make sure they acquire that skill. When it is not required and people can take training after the fact, that is not effective.
What do you think?