Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health announced on Tuesday the creation of the Consultative Committee for French-Speaking Minority Communities.
Under section 41 of the Official Languages Act, the Government of Canada has an obligation to enhance the vitality of the English and French linguistic minority in Canada. The creation of this committee is an important step, honouring the global commitment made in this regard.
One of the priorities of the minority official language communities is access to health care services. There is no doubt that this committee will be attentive to the comments of these communities.
It will play a major role in bringing together the representatives of the French-speaking minority communities, Health Canada, Canadian Heritage and the provinces.
Dr. Hubert Gauthier, the head of the St. Boniface general hospital, will co-chair the committee with Marie Fortier, the associate deputy minister at Health Canada.