Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. President of the Treasury Board for this opportunity to respond to his interesting report.
Let me first underline that our party is not against bilingualism. We are not. In fact, we encourage it on a personal basis. What we are against is the waste of resources brought about by the application of the Official Languages Act and its divisiveness to Canada as a country.
Although no doubt well intentioned, the continued blind application of the act, to use the words of the President of the Treasury Board, "in making sure that federal institutions live up
to their obligations under the act" is the very thing that is causing resentment across the land.
The minister proudly states that English speaking and French speaking Canadians have equal opportunities to obtain employment and advancement in federal institutions. However, within the last two weeks we heard the Minister of National Defence say with pride that officers of the Canadian forces aspiring to the rank of lieutenant colonel or above will have to be bilingual. This same restriction is being applied at the non-commissioned officer level.
In a country where more than 60 per cent of francophones speak no English and over 80 per cent of anglophones speak no French, a person should be able to pursue a career solely in either official language with the expectation that if he or she does everything correctly, there is a reasonable chance for success in that career. Application of the Official Languages Act takes away this hope from the majority in both language groups. It fosters resentment and division in Canada.
We would be among the first to applaud the opportunity for francophones to pursue a career in the French language.
We are appalled by the fact that the number of jobs available to unilingual francophones has dropped 26 per cent since 1974 thanks to the government's ridiculous pursuit of the bilingual post designation.
We are equally upset that unilingual anglophones are suffering the same form of discrimination.
Let me repeat again that we are not opposed to bilingualism. We agree that both languages are necessary in government institutions, such as this Parliament, and the courts of justice. On the other hand, we are opposed to the antagonism and the waste of resources caused by the Official Languages Act over the past 25 years.
I want to conclude by saying I am deeply distressed also by the inaction of the chief parliamentary body overseeing the Official Languages Act. I am a member of the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages which has yet to meet this session. My research indicates this committee has met only nine times in the past two years and has not issued a single recommendation to this House. It saddens me to think that such a vital part of the fabric of Canadian society appears to be sorely neglected by us, Canada's elected representatives.