Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague across the way for that very energetic and impassioned speech. I certainly grasped what he was saying about the importance of the Francophonie.
One of my children lives in Moncton, New Brunswick. He also spent 14 years in Edmonton, Alberta. I also have two grandsons who went to university in Edmonton and are currently studying at the Université de Moncton.
The first thing I want to say to my colleague is that we have been eagerly looking forward to this bill for six years. The member seems to be in a hurry to pass it, but we have been waiting for no less than six years. They have had time to think about it.
Why is the government in such a hurry? I think we could make some major improvements to the bill.
I recently became a member of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, and I would like the bill to come to us as fast as possible so we can improve it.
I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on support for the Francophonie outside Quebec. I think there are some very big issues there too.