Official Languages committee  It would be my pleasure.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, our report on the investigation into the 117 complaints received with regard to the September 2006 budget cuts contained a legal study on the potential impact of those cuts. Much of the progress that has been made is due to decisions rendered by the Supreme Court following recourse to the Court Challenges Program.

Official Languages committee  It is part of our study.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chairman, all I will say is I appreciate very much the comments the member made, and I appreciate his contribution to the discussion we are undertaking in terms of the challenges of diversity and duality. I couldn't agree more with the comments he made about the importance of education.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, I would like to come back to the government's commitment to renew the Action Plan for Official Languages, which was announced in the throne speech. I was very pleased with that commitment and I said so publicly at the time. Furthermore, I also said something that relates to the member's comments: a throne speech is a menu, not a meal.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, one thing I noticed when I visited communities and institutions in minority communities across Canada is that the same complaints came from both francophone institutions and anglophone institutions in Quebec. They have the same problem. As is often the case, when they request funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage, their cheques arrive in January or February, and they have to spend the money before the end of the fiscal year.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, I thank the member for the information he has given me, of which I had no prior knowledge . I would like to echo the member's comments with regard to the role played by Ombudsman Yves Côté. I read the statement he made before your committee last week. We spoke yesterday, and I congratulated him.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, I would like to underscore the importance of the Action Plan for Official Languages and its renewal in that regard. That was one of my messages this year. During the throne speech, I was very pleased to hear that the government was committed to the plan's renewal. In the part of the action plan dealing with education, there is a commitment to double the number of high school graduates who are fluent in both official languages.

Official Languages committee  That is not at all acceptable. The supervisor oversees people who have the right, under the law, to work in either French or English. The managers and the supervisor have the responsibility to respect that obligation.

Official Languages committee  I did indeed table an affidavit in support of my application to intervene in the case. Our intervention will address some very specific points: the scope of the obligation imposed on institutions pursuant to subsection 41(2); what is meant by "positive measures"; what is the nature and extent of the duty to consult, a point that you raised; what review process the courts must follow to determine whether a federal institution is part VII-compliant; to what extent Canadian Heritage has met its responsibilities, a point that was also studied in as in-depth a manner as possible in our inquiry; and what is meant by the right to redress which is provided in part X of the act.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, I think that vitality and assimilation are two sides of the same coin. The vitality of minority communities has often been raised, including as part of this committee's work. A dynamic community is one with social-cultural and economic resources. It is one with a strong civil society that has the capacity to grow.

Official Languages committee  Time is needed for the effect of any legislative change to be felt. The Official Languages Act was first introduced in 1969 and was amended in 1988. We are essentially asking institutions to change their mindset, and that takes time. Some people believe that we should begin by introducing regulations, but I am not convinced that is the best strategy.

Official Languages committee  It varies from institution to institution and department to department. Some institutions and departments consulted the communities to garner an understanding of what measures would truly benefit them, while others favoured a different approach.

Official Languages committee  We want it to become a reflex reaction, we could call it the part VII reflex. I often cite two examples to explain what I mean by a part VII reflex. A Parks Canada director in Jasper consulted with the community and offered it premises free of charge in exchange for the community providing Parks Canada employees with French conversation classes.

Official Languages committee  Exactly. After this observation appeared in our annual report, the Senate committee requested that we commission Prof Donald Savoie to carry out a detailed study into governance, in light of the decision to transfer the coordinating function from the Privy Council Office to Canadian Heritage.