Better than anywhere else. That was another of those derogatory remarks by the hon. member for Carleton-Gloucester who attacked the way Quebec deals with minority rights. I already said in this House that if French speaking Canadians outside Quebec were treated as well as anglophones are treated in Quebec, we would not have the problems we have right now.
There is one thing, regrettably, which I feel is worth mentioning. Of course, the Bloc gave its support to Mr. Tobin when he came here. But we gave it with a slight reservation concerning the rights that are really threatened, those of French speaking Newfoundlanders.
I have here the draft of a bill the Newfoundland government introduced on January 3, 1996. I certainly hope the final version will be more explicit concerning the protection of minority rights.
I also have a copy of the documents concerning the legal action French speaking Newfoundlanders are taking before the Supreme Court of Newfoundland because their provincial government is not complying with section 23 of the charter. That is where the real problem is. Good intentions are there, apparently, but we are anxious to see how it will really turn out and through which means the rights of francophones will be protected.
The province wants to create a school board that would include a three-member committee in charge of the French schools, the French language committee. The mandate of these three members is set out in clause 3, which includes six subclauses. It says that, within the curriculum established by the government, francophones will be able to make decisions regarding the aspects of the program that affect their language and their culture. It is a bit difficult to accept. How can you meet the needs of the francophone culture in an anglophone environment? They are limited to the curriculum established by the government.
Another difficulty is the hiring of personnel that will have to be recommended by board members before the three francophones can approve them. We will support the resolution but not the amendment put forward by our colleague, and we hope Newfoundland will do whatever it takes to protect the rights of the francophone minority.