Mr. Chair, I certainly believe there is a place for francophones within the military. In fact, the number of francophones within the military exceeds the national average.
Our government and this department is committed to the Official Languages Act and to meeting its objectives.
The department has had a problem over a number of years with the plan that it had and year after year it failed. This year, when I took over and it was being reported again that it was failing, I insisted that the department come up with a plan that will achieve those objectives.
As of April 1, a month and a half ago, we instituted a new plan in the Defence Department and I am hoping that by next year and the following years we will start to see the fruits of that plan where we will meet the objectives of the Official Languages Act.