Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook for his speech.
I must say that I cannot get a certain Adam Dodek quotation out of my head. He said that the process for selecting a new Supreme Court justice appears more complicated than the secret process for electing a new pope.
It goes without saying, of course, that I support this motion in principle. However, I cannot help but think of the Conservative appointments. Since we now have a new government, I am reminded of this new concept of functional bilingualism. If I understand the concept correctly, one can be recognized as bilingual without speaking French. That is completely absurd. The devil, as they say, is in the details.
Should we be afraid, for instance, that Atlantic Canada will be represented by its kissing cousins from next door, or by someone who married someone? Will the rules be clear, as the rules on bilingualism should be? Someone who is bilingual must be able to hear a case in French and converse with the lawyers in French.