When he was the leader of the official opposition, the Prime Minister signed a solemn commitment that read in part as follows:
—I acknowledge that linguistic duality is one of the foundations of Canadian society and that the official language communities, and more particularly, the francophone and Acadian communities, are one of the pillars of this duality and consequently of Canada. By doing so, I agree to take every means necessary for the Government of Canada to promote their continued development.
When he became Prime Minister, he quickly set to work, and minority communities have been suffering ever since: $5 million in cuts to status of women; $6 million in cuts to the court challenges program; $18 million in cuts to literacy programs; and closure of nine centres in Manitoba.
On Tuesday, at the Standing Committee on Official Languages, we learned that another program was threatened.
The Réseau Santé en français, which is extremely successful, is very concerned that its funding will not be renewed for 2007-08.
The Prime Minister must reverse this decision and finally honour his solemn commitment to minority francophone communities.