Mr. Speaker, I would like to discuss the motion introduced by the Bloc Québécois calling for the Charter of the French language to be applied to enterprises under federal jurisdiction in relation to the language of work. The motion is based on a misunderstanding of the role of the federal government in promoting French in Canada and it is for that reason that I would like to discuss what the government does in this area.
Contrary to what the Bloc asserts, our government is committed to expanding the influence of French language and culture and that is what I would like to demonstrate.
I would first like to provide assurances that my government is firmly committed to honouring its commitments and obligations in terms of supporting official languages and promoting French and English, throughout Canada. I would like to talk about our commitment to official languages, a few of our achievements, and other initiatives we have taken, such as the government’s participation in the celebrations marking Quebec City's 400th anniversary, which illustrate the importance of the French fact to us.
The Conservative government takes the francophone reality of Quebec into account in everything it does, including the implementation of the Official Languages Act. It gives full measure to the linguistic duality of Canada, which it is committed to promoting both in Quebec and in the other provinces and territories.
In a speech delivered to the chamber of commerce in Rivière-du-Loup on December 7, 2007, Prime Minister Harper said that our Conservative government practices...