I think it goes beyond partisanship. We need funding, increased funding and targeted funding. We need that money to actually get through.
With due respect, one of the premises of your presentation is probably mistaken. The Supreme Court of Canada actually teaches us—I say “us” because I am a Franco-Ontarian—that we are entitled to real equivalency in our schools.
Further, we are entitled to what is required to achieve that objective. The Supreme Court goes so far as to say that it requires a gymnasium. It also requires employees and staff on the ground. If there were not enough classroom teachers in Ottawa where my daughter attended grade school, that would have been very bad.
Those teachers are needed for the implementation of section 23, which is why I was surprised, to put it mildly, to hear that the federal government might reduce funding to colleges and post-secondary institutions that help train the educators needed to pass on the language and culture.
Section 23 also applies to the federal government, not just the provinces. We could discuss the questions that have been raised, but we are waiting for a Federal Court decision that might clarify the issue soon.