Official Languages committee  I acknowledge—and it concerns me a lot—that the enrolment rate among rights holders is very low. I think the census study showed that there is an average enrolment rate of about 50% across Canada. It is all the more worrying because rights holders only have this right for one single generation.

Official Languages committee  As far as the Speech from the Throne is concerned, I've always said that it was a menu and not a meal. So we'll wait and see what is served up to us. I have a similar philosophy when it comes to the commission the government established. The results are what's important. Now in terms of the Canadian Forces, let me come back in part to what your colleague said.

Official Languages committee  Those figures—

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chairman, with all due respect for Mr. Lord and the member of Parliament, I insist on repeating that I am focused on what the government is achieving. Even though we are on good terms, the final product is really all that matters.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chairman, in our office, the word "investigation" has a very specific meaning. We are talking about figures which were made public the day before yesterday by the department. I will look at them, as will the member. It goes without saying that analyzing government results is part of our mandate.

Official Languages committee  I do not want to comment on the details of the incident. I think that Air Canada's service to its passengers is a very important matter, as well as the responsibilities of the Halifax International Airport. We are currently looking into the Halifax incident. We are studying it in detail and we are looking into the airport's responsibility.

Official Languages committee  I believe that the government must respect every single commitment it made under the action plan. This includes improving on commitments already made and making sure that the money is all spent.

Official Languages committee  There are two things I would say to that. One is—and this is one of the challenges you always have in terms of statistical analysis of language mastery—that it tends to be self-identification. So the numbers that have always provided the basis for the analysis have been the degree to which people at that age self-identify as bilingual.

Official Languages committee  Experience has shown, together with some studies, that in minority language communities, access to preschool was a determining factor with regard to the school which the children would then attend. But there is today a gap between the number of young people who have the right to attend a minority language school and the real number of students who actually go to such a school.

Official Languages committee  If you look at the breakdown of the numbers—and I think some of those officials went through those numbers—there are some provinces where there has been a slight slippage. What has been very impressive is the increase in British Columbia, and particularly Alberta, which is being driven by quality.

Official Languages committee  Arts and culture are important for minority communities, because they create a francophone space or, in the case of small anglophone communities, an anglophone space. I can hardly imagine how one can live in a linguistic space without having access to means of communication. Without going into often complicated details on how newspapers are funded and freedom of the press, there is no doubt that the vitality of a minority community depends on that community being able to function in its own language.

Official Languages committee  For me, it's not at all a matter of abandoning the objectives. However, there is one problem. In fact, it seems as if the goal of having half of all high school graduates be bilingual by 2013 is not working out. If you look at the census figures, you'll realize that we have lost ground.

Official Languages committee  We are still in a transition period with regard to the application of the amendment. I don't like saying "S-3" because we are in a new session and there is a new Bill S-3. However, the act was amended just over two years ago and federal institutions are still trying to understand their new obligations.

Official Languages committee  You have to make a distinction. Some of the successes in this area can be explained by the systems which were created, such as the 17 health care networks. The communities said they feared that if there was a gap between March 31 and the new plan, it would mark the end of these networks.

Official Languages committee  I would think that it's up to the minister to respond in detail about the figures provided by her department. I can see as you do that there is a gap between what was planned and what was actually spent.