Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I am pleased to join my parliamentary colleagues this evening to participate in the work of the committee of the whole on the Canadian government's main estimates. This evening, it is not the main estimates we should be talking about. Since the Conservative government has been here in Ottawa, we could talk about the main investments in the economy and in Canadian taxpayers.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. This report is related to the committee's study on access to justice.

“Your Canada in 2050” Contest  Mr. Speaker, what will Canada be like in 2050? What policies would improve our society so that it reflects our highest aspirations? Young people in Lévis, Bellechasse and Les Etchemins entered the “Ton Canada en 2050” contest and answered these fascinating questions. The members of the jury were impressed by the creativity and energy of these secondary students and the teachers who got involved.

Business of Supply  Question.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Honoré—Mercier for his interest in local and regional news throughout Quebec. In the Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches regions, TQS offers a much appreciated newscast. The CRTC is a quasi-judicial tribunal. Of course, it may be tempting sometimes for Parliament or the government to interfere.

Liberal Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, once again, the Liberals have missed a perfect opportunity to keep quiet. Recently, the former executive director of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party of Canada was arrested and charged with fraud. The old sponsorship scandal ghosts continue to haunt them and remind us of that party's dubious ethical practices.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my hon. colleague. I would like to inform him that, in his speech, he has misinformed the House because it has been demonstrated very clearly that the Conservative Party has cooperated fully and entirely with Elections Canada in order to clarify the interpretation of the legislation on election expenses.

Points of Order  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to live in Sainte-Marie. I have relatives and there are people here today who have worked at Vachon and they deserve some respect. We will defend them and represent them to the end.

Points of Order  Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During oral question period, the hon. member for La Pointe-de-l'Île made comments that could be seen as insulting to Quebec and Canadian workers and consumers. I grew up in Sainte-Marie and we were very proud of the Vachon bakery. When we went abroad we would bring boxes of Vachon snack cakes with us and people were pleased to have them.

Monique Leroux  Mr. Speaker, “In the near future, a woman will become president of a major Canadian financial institution”. This was the prediction made in 2006 by the woman who was elected, on March 15, as President and CEO of the Desjardins Group. Ms. Monique Leroux is the first woman to hold the highest position at the largest financial cooperative movement in Canada in 108 years.

Afghanistan  Mr. Speaker, our Canadian troops deployed in Afghanistan under the authority of NATO and the UN have just received the good news that they will soon receive some backup. Our Prime Minister, who attended the NATO summit in Bucharest last week, convinced our allies to support Canada's mission to help the Afghan people.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue for his question. My answer is: absolutely. He has given us some figures. There are a lot of employees. However, I have only one figure to give him that embraces all those statistics that he has just given us. It is another statistic: nearly 95% of Quebeckers most often or regularly use French at work.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question and for her interest in French at work. As I said earlier, close to 95% of Quebeckers speak French at work. The motion thus seems to be superfluous. Thankfully, the Government of Canada is here to defend French when Quebeckers, who are quite mobile, go abroad to work.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform you that I will be splitting my time with my colleague, the hon. member for Louis-Hébert, who does tremendous work on the Standing Committee on Official Languages. It is my pleasure to rise on this opposition day to show how important it is to my Conservative colleagues, those from Quebec and from all over the country, to support and promote the French language and linguistic duality all across Canada.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleague to come and visit successful manufacturing plants in the riding of Lévis—Bellechasse. We believe in the manufacturing sector and in the promotion of linguistic duality across the country. This is why I have some difficulty in understanding my colleague's take today.