Mr. Speaker, francophone and Acadian communities are pleased today, but not because of this Conservative government's commitment. The Minister for la Francophonie and Official Languages announced on Friday evening before 700 francophones that she wanted to consult yet again—no commitment, no highly anticipated word of encouragement for these communities.
Journalist Adrien Cantin summed it up well in Le Droit this morning, “What does a government do when it does not know what to do or has no intention of doing anything right away? It consults”.
The community also received the leader of the Liberal Party, who did not disappoint. He made it clear that official languages would be promoted as a valuable resource and an opportunity for growth. He announced that a Liberal government would renew the action plan for official languages, invest in francophone community infrastructure, reinstate the court challenges program, double its annual budget and include linguistic clauses in federal-provincial agreements.
The choice became quite clear for the participants of this wonderful summit. The Liberal Party will always be there for them.