Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, my colleague has been the official languages critic for several years now. Whenever he asks me questions about modernizing the Official Languages Act, the Conservatives' sudden interest in official languages surprises me, especially now that they are courting Bloc Qu

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, we should ask ourselves who in the House can take action to counter the decline of French across Quebec and Canada. The reality is that we are there and we will take action. I just want to reassure my colleague. We will do it properly, of course, and together with Q

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague. We had a very nice evening yesterday. We expressed our love for French. It was nice to see and it was very inspiring. I think that we are sending the right message to Quebeckers and Canadians across the country. The Bloc Québécois's curren

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, there are no surprises. We announced in the throne speech that we would introduce a bill to modernize the Official Languages Act. However, our objective is to bring in some broader linguistic reform, because the French language is a minority language in Canada. We

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that our government recognizes the importance of the legacy of Bill 101. As the member for Ahuntsic-Cartierville, I see it every day when I meet with the families of newcomers whose children speak to me in French. I am pleased to see the high

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, my colleague wants to know what we have been doing for the past five years. We have repaired the damage done by the Harper government and cleaned house with respect to official languages. That being said, the Conservatives' current strategy clearly involves courting

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, I have a good question for my colleague, because I know that she is a strong advocate for official languages and also for immigration. Our government implemented several measures with respect to francophone immigration. I would like her to inform the House of our va

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, I am pleased to see you, a Franco-Ontarian, presiding over this debate. Two Franco-Ontarians are presiding over this debate, and that is inspiring. My colleague has spoken a great deal about official languages. I am pleased to ask him this question. He spoke about t

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague. Congratulations to Amélie and Arthur. The member said that he sat on the Standing Committee on Official Languages during the time of the Harper government. I would like to know how he reacted then to the drastic cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada's budge

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Mr. Speaker, my colleague has just made my point. The Official Languages Act is one thing. The government’s language policy is another. In Canada, institutional bilingualism does in fact come from the Official Languages Act, but also from a whole series of measures, decisions and

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Mr. Speaker, I want to tell my colleague that it is always inspiring to hear him speak French, since he speaks it so very well. I have a lot of respect for him, and I am pleased to be able to count him as an ally. I heard his first question on Bill 101. I am already in contact w

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his compliments. I am happy to talk about my love of the language and even about other very well-known Montreal poets, if he likes, since we are speaking of flagships and golden ships. All this to say that I understand that we need to take a

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for pointing out that this is the first time in 43 Parliaments that a federal government has recognized that French is a minority language. However, one very important fact must be made clear, namely that the Government of Canada is the Governme

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Mr. Speaker, I know you to be an admirable colleague and an ally of official languages and francophones, especially in Ontario. I am pleased to make a few comments to you today on the topic of official languages. It is a privilege for me to speak this evening to a topic that co

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague of certain facts. I believe that my colleague is new to the official languages file and has just demonstrated a certain interest in the issue. For the first time ever, we recognized the need to protect the French language in the t