moved:
That this committee take note of the status of the French language in Montreal.
Madam Chair, I would like to be very clear from the start: French is the common language of Quebeckers. It is our official language in Quebec. It is the language of a proud and open people who live and sometimes survive in the middle of a sea of anglophones. It is also the language of a respectful people who defend the rights of linguistic minorities. It is a language that is both beautiful and fragile. It is our language that we share with thousands of francophones from every region in Canada. We must love, cherish, share and protect it.
Today, I will talk about the French language. I will obviously do so as the member of Parliament for Honoré-Mercier, government House leader and Quebec lieutenant, but first and foremost as a Quebecker, father, friend and huge fan of Quebec music and culture. French is not my first language, but to me, it is the most beautiful language in the world. It is the language of Quebec and Quebeckers. It is a language of giants. It is the language of extraordinary people like Félix Leclerc, Réjean Ducharme, Michel Tremblay and Gaston Miron. It is also a language that is our own, the language we speak every day, the language in which we love, laugh and cry. It is the language in which we keep in touch with our friends and ask, “Hey, how's it going, big guy? What's up?” It is the language I use every night when I call my daughter. It is the language in which I have fun with my buddies and chat with my colleagues. It is the language in which we tell each other, “Hang on, we can do it, we will soldier on and make it through”, a language of survivors.
It is the language in which we tell bedtime stories to our little ones to help them sleep, with varying degrees of success. It is the language in which we comfort them. It is the language in which we speak with our parents and grandparents and tell them we love them. It is also in French that I learned to play songs by Harmonium, Paul Piché and Beau Dommage on the guitar—again, with varying degrees of success, but with a lot of spirit. It is the language in which my father, my mother, my sisters and I were welcomed here and immediately felt accepted.
I remember that when I first came here, I could not understand a word. I spoke only Spanish. When I came here, I learned a single word, “ici”, meaning “here.” With only three letters, it was not too hard. I ran to one place and said “ici”, then ran someplace else and repeated “ici”, and so forth. Eventually, it got a bit repetitive. I understood that I needed to hurry up and learn a few more words if I wanted to make some friends to play hockey with and play outside with. I learned French, and I learned it quickly. I fell head over heels in love with the language. It is a complex language at times, but that complexity gives rise to the subtleties and nuances that make it so beautiful. It is for these reasons, and many more, that we must do everything possible to protect it.
French is declining in Montreal. This concerns me as a Montrealer, as a Quebecker, and I would say as a Canadian as well. It also concerns my colleagues in other parties, I am sure. It is gut-wrenching, because we see it, we feel it and we live it. We have to keep in mind that there is no simple solution. We cannot look for a panacea that will make everything better. No single measure will fix the problem all by itself. There is no magic bullet. I believe that any solution will require a healthy dose of courage, willingness and collaboration. I mention collaboration because, obviously, the Government of Quebec has a central role to play in protecting the French language.
We must work together because we can do a lot here in Ottawa to protect French in Quebec and elsewhere in the country.
The Speech from the Throne states that the federal government must protect minority language communities, be it our English-speaking friends in Quebec or our French-speaking friends outside Quebec, but that it must also protect French in Quebec. For the first time in the past 150 years, the government recognizes its responsibility to protect French in Quebec, even though it is the majority language there. It must be protected because of its minority status in the rest of Canada and North America.
Protecting French can be done in many different ways. One of them is the modernization of the Official Languages Act, and my colleague is working on that every day. She will have an opportunity to tell us about her work a bit later. Modernizing the act will allow us to do a lot. The act is already a powerful tool, but its scope will be expanded.
Then there is culture. By investing in culture, we invest in our language and our identity. We have more books, television programs and music in French. Is there a better way to learn our language than by listening to Michel Rivard, Daniel Bélanger or Cœur de pirate, by watching Tout le monde en parle, District 31 or Infoman—I am sure that Jean-René is watching us—or by attending a play at Théâtre du Nouveau Monde or Théâtre Jean-Duceppe?
Culture must be protected, and protecting French is protecting culture. It can be done in traditional media, but today we ought to go much further and extend the protection online because the world has evolved. That is exactly what we are doing with our broadcasting bill. We have to legislate to protect and promote French content online.
Much work also needs to be done internationally, through international institutions, so that French continues to spread its influence in the world.
We can also provide financial support, for example, by offering loans and subsidies to help our businesses in Quebec through this crisis. By giving them a helping hand, one way or another, we are helping small businesses in Quebec keep good jobs in Quebec. Quite often, these jobs are in French.
I believe everyone here acknowledges that we need to do more. We will do more, but we need to do it together. Individual actions by individual members of Parliament will not change everything. Governments can and must work together. Quebec is doing its share and will continue to do so, as will we, but all of us here must pitch in, as members of Parliament and as individuals. We have a responsibility, as individuals and as a society, to take action and rally together, to express our linguistic pride, to step up, to stand up for and promote the French language.
We can obviously defend and promote our language through big political gestures, for example by creating programs, but small, everyday actions are just as important. I would even say that there is no small gesture, just meaningful gestures in support of our language, such as buying Quebec music and reading works by one of our many authors.
I have been fighting from the moment I entered politics and will continue until I leave; I will not give up. I will always defend our language. There are 35 members from Quebec in the House and many more who will fight together. I am reaching out to my opposition colleagues. Let us work together.
