Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question. Protecting and promoting French is a top priority for this government. It is important that our leaders set an example, which is why Ms. Murphy is taking French classes. She recognizes the importance of being able to communicate and converse with New Brunswickers.

Official Languages Act  Madam Speaker, the idea of having a central agency is absolutely key to ensuring compliance with the Official Languages Act. In Bill C‑13, we have established the Treasury Board as the central agency with monitoring, auditing and evaluating powers. We want to ensure that it will have more tools and resources to do its job.

Official Languages Act  Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his question and for his work on the Standing Committee on Official Languages. I want to be perfectly clear. Bill C-13 does have real teeth. Last year, the former minister of official languages introduced Bill C-32. In my conversations with stakeholders and colleagues, I heard suggestions on how certain aspects of the bill could be improved, and that is exactly what we have done.

Official Languages Act  Madam Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right. One thing we observed during our discussions and consultations was that French is in decline not only in Canada, but also in Quebec. That is why the government is moving forward with an ambitious bill that will help us protect and promote French in Quebec and across Canada.

Official Languages Act  moved that Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent of the House to share my time with the President of the Treasury Board.

Official Languages Act  Madam Speaker, it is a privilege for me to rise today to begin the second reading debate on Bill C‑13, an act for the substantive equality of Canada's official languages. I would first like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe.

Official Languages  Madam Speaker, once again, as Minister of Official Languages, I was very pleased to have the opportunity on March 1 to reintroduce our bill to modernize the Official Languages Act. We drew up a bill with more teeth. As for the matter of money for post-secondary institutions in the 2021 budget, we promised $121 million over three years.

Tourism Industry  Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to thank my friend and colleague from Halifax West for her excellent question. As Atlantic Canada's main streets reopen, our government will be there to help them and to help locals and tourists discover the incredible things that they have to offer.

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question. Promoting and protecting the French language is a top priority for our government. Today, I had the great pleasure and honour of tabling our bill to modernize and strengthen official languages. This means that we recognize the decline of French in Canada and even in Quebec, and that is—

Official Languages Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague from Vancouver Granville for his excellent question. Our government recognizes that providing students with the opportunity to learn French today means having more bilingual adults in the future. Budget 2021 includes investments to eliminate wait lists and to find ways to work with our provincial and territorial partners to continue to improve access to the French language.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), the information can be found using the following link: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/official-languages-bilingualism/publications.html. In response to (b), the requested information is not tracked in Canadian Heritage’s financial systems.

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question. I was very pleased this week to have a conversation with my colleague about modernizing official languages legislation. As I told him, protecting and promoting the French language is a top priority for this government and for me as minister.

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, once again, I want to thank my colleague for his question. We have always said that both official languages are central to our identity, our culture and the future of our country. We will do all we can to reintroduce this bill as soon as possible. Once again, as a proud Acadian, I am aware of the importance of protecting and promoting our official languages, and I look forward to reintroducing the bill.

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the Prime Minister for entrusting me with the official languages file, which is so important to me. Moreover, I just learned that I am the first Acadian minister to hold this office. As a francophone who lives in an official language minority community, I am very aware of these concerns and I recognize that the French language is in decline in Canada, including in Quebec.