Mr. Speaker, last Thursday was a sad day for Franco-Ontarians and all francophones.
By cutting the French Language Services Commissioner position in Ontario and cancelling the proposed French-language university, Doug Ford's Conservatives are sending a clear message: francophones are second-class citizens. That is clear when we compare the situation of anglophones in Quebec to that of Franco-Ontarians. The truth is that English Canada tolerates the rights of francophones provided they keep their mouths shut and do not make any demands.
If they think Franco-Ontarians are going to put up with this, they have another thing coming. Franco-Ontarians won when none other than the Conservatives wanted to take away the Montfort, the only francophone hospital outside Quebec in Canada. They will win again if all francophones come together and stand up to this anglocentric government in Ontario.
That is why, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois and thousands of Quebeckers, I say to Franco-Ontarians—