Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech this evening and for the request for emergency debate, which enables us to discuss this important issue.
Obviously, we support the French language. Before I became an MP, I earned a living working with French. It is part of my identity, my history and my daily life. I will therefore do everything I can to defend it.
With regard to Laurentian University, it is vital to have strong institutions, particularly in francophone minority communities in other parts of Canada. Our government is there. We are present. We encourage the provinces and territories to provide their communities with a quality French-language or bilingual education and support them in doing so. The government has been supporting education in the minority language for over 50 years. We will continue to do that with investments of $150 million per year and an additional amount of over $15 million per year from 2019 to 2023.
Unlike the official opposition, which denies the fact that education is a provincial jurisdiction, I would like my colleague to tell me what action the government can take within our areas of jurisdiction.