Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Mount Royal.
A strong culture attracts supporters. New members of that culture become allies, and allies create partnerships together.
Not far away, we have an example of a culture that has an enormous power of attraction, that of the United States, whose cultural works, in the broadest sense of the term, such as arts, sports, entertainment, and even video games, attract audiences from all over the world. These audiences readily expose themselves to the symbols and values of American society.
However, I would like to focus more on the power of attraction of the French language, which needs to be strengthened. I would like to share my wife's story. She is originally from Alberta.
She might not like that I am talking about her in the House, but she deserves the attention because of all she does to help me have this political career. Everyone in the House understands what I mean.
My wife's mother is an American who married a Canadian and made a life in Canada, in western Canada. Once in Canada, she was taken with Pierre Trudeau's vision, by the idea of French Power in Ottawa, the Official Languages Act and Canadian biculturalism. This woman who originally had no connection to French chose to enrol her four children in French immersion in Calgary.
That experience had a profound impact on my wife, who later went to university to become a social sciences teacher in French immersion. In other words, she studied so she could promote the French language. Her love of French is what brought her to Quebec, where she even worked one summer as a young guide at the National Assembly, showing Quebeckers the splendour of their legislature.
In Calgary, not only did my wife learn French, but she also got a taste of Quebec culture. I will never forget when I suggested that we go see Luc de Larochellière at the Francofolies. To my great surprise, she already knew his music, as well as the music of Michel Rivard and Richard Séguin. Her teachers in Calgary were Quebec francophones. They shared their culture with their students. I say all this to provide an example of the power of attraction of the French language and Quebec culture.
French grows stronger and flourishes through its ability to attract supporters, including among newcomers. Any minority culture has to deal with the soft power of nearby majority cultures, such as the American culture that has the technological and economic clout to spread its influence.
The federal government has a role to play in supporting the French fact in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. It has the means and the duty to work to boost the appeal of French. It has regulatory power through the CRTC and under the Broadcasting Act, both of which are covered by Bill C-10, which the Minister of Canadian Heritage just introduced. The government has Radio-Canada, which deserves to get the funding it needs to continue to be one of the main bastions of French language and culture in Quebec and Canada. The government has substantial budgets for funding French-language content that reflects francophone culture with the help of the web giants that will now be required to contribute under Bill C-10. The government also has the Official Languages Act.
The vitality of a people depends on its culture. Culture is how it sustains itself, thrives and reaches out to others.