Madam Chair, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. Like many people, I admire his mastery of the French language.
I want to tell him that I had the opportunity to visit Saint-Boniface. The first time I was there I was not even an MP. I felt like I was in Saint-Hyacinthe. I could sense the vitality of the language and the impact it was having on Winnipeg's development. Today, that has become a real asset. It is absolutely the government's role to do that.
What is new is that the federal government needs to be aware that, to maintain linguistic vitality, we need to promote and protect English and French, including French in Quebec. Quebec is joining minority language communities across the country. It has become a new large minority community.