Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago today, our magnificent green and white flag, a symbol of Franco-Ontarians, was raised for the first time in Sudbury.
This morning, together with the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages and colleagues from across Canada, we proudly raised the flag on Parliament Hill.
Ontario is home to the largest francophone population outside Quebec. As the proud member for Orléans, a vibrant francophone community enriched by its linguistic diversity and home to the Mouvement d'implication francophone d'Orléans, I see every day how proud people are to live, work, learn and thrive in French.
On this historic day, I join Franco-Ontarians from across the province in celebrating our beautiful language. May our flag continue to fly proudly for another 50 years.