Mr. Speaker, in addition to making disparaging remarks about the small region of Lac-Saint-Jean, the Prime Minister reminded us yesterday of how his education tour of Canada made him discover what Canada was really about.
What country is he talking about? Does the Prime Minister not realize that francophone communities outside Quebec are facing assimilation? These communities still have to fight to preserve their language and culture while often not even having access to post-secondary education in French.
The people of Quebec have no problem with going outside the province when they want to learn to speak English, but they know full well that true French education is only possible in a francophone environment.
What the Prime Minister is proposing for the students of the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean is a sprinkling of classes in French in a completely anglophone environment. That is the picture of Canada the Prime Minister is painting for francophones.