Madam Chair, Jean Chrétien often talked about the Canada he believed in.
It was a Canada in which one could be francophone and feel at home in Vancouver or in Halifax. It was a Canada in which one could be anglophone and feel at home in Montreal or Gaspé. I still believe in that vision of Canada, a Canada where bilingualism is as much a part of our national identity as hockey or maple syrup.
Canada was created as a contract between English-speaking and French-speaking communities. The destinies of both communities are in inextricably linked together in this great country. We need to recognize the very legitimate fears French-speaking Canadians have living as a minority on the North American continent. I am saying this in English because I want English-speaking Canadians to hear it.
The throne speech has, for the first time, recognized our responsibility as a federal government to protect and promote French in Quebec. I support this. I am an English-speaking Quebecker, just like my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were before me. I have lived my entire life on the Island of Montreal, a place I love. Here, French and English speakers live together, work together and often love one another. We are no longer the two solitudes Hugh MacLennan wrote about, but sometimes, sadly, both our communities still struggle to understand each other.
Today, the debate focuses on Quebec and Montreal. We must continue our efforts to ensure that French remains the common language in Quebec. When we talk about languages in Canada, we cannot forget the concerns of francophone minority communities outside Quebec. These communities need strong support from the federal government to flourish.
In Quebec, francophones form the majority. The provincial government adopted many measures that impose the use of French. The rules around education ensure that most newcomers to Quebec integrate into the francophone community.
Despite everything, francophone Quebeckers have legitimate fears about their ability to live, work and be served in their language and about their ability to integrate new immigrants.
I was recently moved by the account of one of my colleagues who stated that he had not managed to be served in French in certain stores in downtown Montreal. That is unacceptable. Montreal is the largest city in the province where the majority of people are francophone. Every Quebecker who lives in or visits Montreal has the right to expect to be served in French.
That said, I would like to share with the House some concerns of anglophone minority communities in Quebec because, in order to collaborate, we must understand one another.
As an English-speaking Quebecker, let me speak to some fears that my community faces. Our community is shrinking. Hundreds of thousands of people have left our province. In my own family, my only sibling no longer lives in Quebec, nor do any of my four first cousins. Most of the friends I grew up with have left this province.
English-speaking seniors often live in isolation because their children have moved away. Our schools are closing. Many English-speaking Quebeckers, particularly outside of Montreal, have trouble accessing health and social services in English.
There are currently calls to reduce funding to the institutions founded by our community. This despite the fact that all our institutions are open to everyone. Our hospitals, such as the world-leading Jewish General Hospital in my riding of Mount Royal, are bilingual. More than one-third of the patients treated there are francophones, and they are treated in French.
We make up less than 1% of the provincial civil service, despite representing over 13% of the population. English-speaking Quebeckers also have our legitimate fears. Any discussion must include us too.
We have made progress. We recognize that French is the common language in Quebec. We have become bilingual. Only 37% of us were bilingual in 1971. Now 71% speak Quebec's official language.
Anglophone Quebeckers are not rejecting French. We are and should be allies, a bridge between francophone Quebeckers and other anglophone Canadians. Our support will help promote the French fact in North America.