Madam Speaker, in 2010, 11 years ago now, I sat down with leaders from the francophone community who wanted to create the Maison de la francophonie d'Ottawa, a place to promote services in French and French-language development for francophones and francophiles.
The Maison de la francophonie, a non-profit organization, is now up and running in my riding, Ottawa West—Nepean. Bilingualism defines us as a country. The Maison de la francophonie offers health services, sports programs, second language classes and many cultural activities.
I would like to thank everyone involved in the Maison de la francophonie for creating this welcoming and inclusive space where diversity is celebrated.