Official Languages committee  It certainly is, because the requests only aim to align the Official Languages Act with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Ensuring that services and communications are in both official languages is simply implementing section 16.1 of the Charter. So I feel that the next version of the Official Languages Act, which will likely be modernized, must include those items.

Official Languages committee  Actually, New Brunswick has a huge demographics problem. Immigration will likely play a crucial role in saving Acadia in New Brunswick. That might be a little strong, but we're seeing post-secondary institutions crumble across the country right now, and New Brunswick is no exception.

Official Languages committee  According to the white paper presented by Minister Joly, the recommendations have been followed. We are not the only organization that proposed this. In addition to the Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick (SANB), there was also the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta (ACFA), and other advocacy organizations.

Official Languages committee  There could be a totally positive effect if the act were modernized and if the review of the act in New Brunswick were fully implemented. We can perhaps think that we are heading towards [Inaudible—Editor] in New Brunswick. There's modernization first, and implementation second.

Official Languages committee  We are in the process of reviewing it. We are currently in discussions with the government. Our discussions are going relatively well, but I must admit that they are much more productive with the federal government than with the provincial government. However, we are used to being patient.

Official Languages committee  This situation is caused by the fact that we are funded directly by the federal government. There are actually advantages and disadvantages to being directly funded by the government. What Mr. Simard recommended in the past, and which is perhaps even more relevant today, was to create a trust fund that would be managed by a Crown corporation, predominantly made up of members of community organizations from each province.

Official Languages committee  I think that the federal government really needs to show leadership on official languages. In a relationship involving three parties, all three parties must be at the negotiating table. In the case of New Brunswick, you really have to implement section [Technical difficulty—Editor] and make sure it is implemented.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, dear committee members, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to appear before this committee to discuss government measures to protect and promote French throughout Canada, particularly in Quebec, as well as in Acadia and the Atlantic provinces.

Official Languages committee  Dr. Russell, the chief medical officer of health, is bilingual. She communicated in both official languages. However, the premier of New Brunswick didn't; he only had simultaneous interpretation. I'm interested in this question because I'm a law student. Beaulac, one of the leading language law cases, states that what's important in official languages is equal treatment, not accommodations such as simultaneous interpretation.

Official Languages committee  Looking at the historical timeline, you can see that, in 1988, for example, Brian Mulroney and Lucien Bouchard did an excellent job of publicly promoting its modernization. Mr. Mulroney and his provincial counterparts worked hard to provide a clear explanation of the changes that should be made to the Official Languages Act.

Official Languages committee  In 1988, a popularization and discussion exercise was conducted with the provinces, something the present government hasn't done. Preparing a white paper may be precisely what the government wants to do. If that's the case, we aren't opposed to the white paper if it leads to the quick passage of a bill.

Official Languages committee  That's an excellent question, and I'm going to give it a politician's answer. I think we'll obviously have no choice but to consider other options if the New Brunswick government can't guarantee New Brunswick's Acadians a defence of the French language, and if the federal government can't put on his pants and defend French for minorities such as the Acadian nation in New Brunswick.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for your question, Mr. Beaulieu. If you don't mind, I'll let our executive director answer that question.

Official Languages committee  If it were up to me, of course I would like to see the specificity of New Brunswick recognized in the Official Languages Act. We made several requests to that effect in 2018 when we submitted our brief to the Senate. Without going into detail, there is also the urgent request regarding Part IV, and there is also immigration.

Official Languages committee  I would say in response that subsection 16(1) of the Charter and Part VII of the federal Official Languages Act are national in scope. I would even go as far as saying that these are constitutional and legislative provisions that are of national interest, and they must be given priority for the sake of national unity.