Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank the member for Victoria for that very thoughtful and well-researched contribution to this debate. It is certainly what we have come to expect from the member, but I have to say that this is one of his finer moments.
There are a couple of points the member made in his speech that I would like to take up with him.
First, I understand the plug for the NDP bill with respect to the bilingualism of judges. I would simply ask the member to confirm or acknowledge that of the last 15 Supreme Court of Canada judges, 13 have been functionally bilingual at the time of their appointment. Therefore, while the bill would be something symbolic, it would not result in any major change in the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court.
Second, I thought it was an excellent point he made with respect to the hyperbole we are hearing from the Conservatives with respect to a 141-year-old constitutional convention. I would ask the member about the veracity of a 141-year-old constitutional convention, when, in fact, this custom, this tradition, has been observed just since 1949, with some degree of flexibility.