Mr. Speaker, today I would like to point out to the House the obvious bad faith of the federalists who too often repeat the mantra of Canadian bilingualism.
If Canada were truly bilingual, my colleague from Jeanne-Le Ber would not have fought for years for access to French services at the Montreal office of the Immigration and Refugee Board. The current debate about the bilingualism of Supreme Court justices would not be needed. The Commissioner of Official Languages and the French and English media would not have unanimously criticized the limited amount of French, an official language of the Olympics, at the 2010 Vancouver Games. Francophone employees of Service Canada in Kentville, Nova Scotia, would be allowed to provide services in French to francophones. That shows that, outside of Quebec, French is of no importance.
Canadian bilingualism from coast to coast cannot pass a reality test. In fact, Canadian bilingualism is but a grand federalist illusion.