Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise in the House to follow up on a question I asked on November 19. Time flies. We were in the middle of a language crisis that was gripping Franco-Ontarians. I was asking the Liberal government about the Ontario government's terrible decision to eliminate the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and scrap plans to build a French-language university in Toronto.
That lack of vision is a direct attack on the Franco-Ontarian community and official languages. This situation affects all francophone communities across the country. Today we can and we must confirm that all francophones and francophiles from coast to coast to coast stand in solidarity with Franco-Ontarians.
In November, I asked the Liberals what concrete action they were going to take to protect minority francophone communities across the country, particularly in response to the current language crisis in Ontario. I referred to two specific aspects, namely, the elimination of the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and the decision to shelve the creation of the French-language university. There are roughly 800,000 francophones in Ontario and there is no francophone university. That makes no sense.
Several prominent Franco-Ontarians have appeared on the Quebec TV show Tout le monde en parle, including Dyane Adam, the chair of the board of governors of the Université de l'Ontario français, and Ontario MPP Amanda Simard. They showed the Quebec nation the importance of solidarity. All francophones need to stand in solidarity with other francophones in Canada who are under attack. Their testimony struck a chord with us and showed us the importance of standing together.
In my own riding, Drummond, I received hundreds of emails, letters and calls telling me to keep going and expressing support for Franco-Ontarians. Those people said we need to protect francophones and French-language services in Ontario.
Speaking of the vitality and development of our francophone communities, French is more alive than ever in Drummond. On March 16, I attended the prize-giving ceremony for the awards for excellence in French and the prestigious Georges Dor award, which are given out each year by the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste du Centre-du-Québec. I just want to take a moment to congratulate the winners: Rosalie Ouellette, Ariane Poudrier, Juliette De Grandpré, Raphaëlle-Ambre Hamon and Jean-Guy Lachance. As a French teacher and the critic for official languages, I always want to recognize the contributions of people who promote the vitality of the beautiful French language. I commend the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste du Centre-du-Québec.
What more will the government do to support Franco-Ontarians? What else will it offer the Université de l'Ontario français?