Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, it is a wonder why the Bloc Québécois is looking for a fight at any cost when the fact is that we agree on protecting the French language. We want to work together to do just that. I am saying to my colleagues that we should work together. We are reaching out. Let u

Western Economic Diversification  Mr. Speaker, I am surprised by the allegations of my colleague. Obviously, I would like to talk to him about this specific case. We have always been there for many businesses across the west. Not only have we been there, but we included much more funding recently to Western Eco

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that French is losing ground in Quebec. We recognize that, and we want to take action. I have had good conversations with my counterpart in Quebec, Simon Jolin-Barrette, who is working on a reform of his own. For our part, we are also working

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, many parliamentarians have walked these hallowed halls. In the history of the 42 previous parliaments, French has never been recognized as a minority language in this country. This government is the first government in history to recognize the importance of the eigh

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that we agree with the Bloc Québécois members and all colleagues who are francophiles and official languages allies. Protecting our language in Quebec and across the country is important. At the same time, protecting the French fact means prot

Government Programs  Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that we will always work toward cutting excessive red tape and regulations. We will work with my colleague to ensure that the people of his riding get good service. In the meantime, if they have more specific questions, they can always get in

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, I know that Halloween just passed, but I want to remind hon. members of the horrors of the Conservative Party when it comes to official languages. The Montfort hospital, the Campus Saint-Jean, and the French-language university in Ontario are examples of Conservativ

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to say what I thought about her remarks. The member apologized and, of course, as we stated in the throne speech, we will always be there to protect the French fact in Canada and recognize that French is a minority language that needs more supp

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is committed to growing the economy in northern Ontario and creating good local jobs. The Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, or FedNor, has always been a key partner for entrepreneurs in northern Ontario and an inte

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government will take no lessons from the Conservatives. The reality is that we had to clean up their mess when we took office. They made massive budget cuts to all official language services. Our stakeholders, our francophones, particularly those living

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, it seems that my colleague needs a refresher. I would remind him that we are the ones who appointed bilingual judges to the Supreme Court because the Harper government and the Conservatives never did. I could also remind him that we recognize the enumeration of rig

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that we must be there to protect the language rights of francophones, both in Quebec and across the country. This is the first time that the Government of Canada has acknowledged that it must do more to protect the state of the French language.

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, I completely disagree with my colleague because the reality is that we are helping francophones in Quebec and we are helping the Quebec government get access to French training services, particularly with regard to immigration, through the Canada-Quebec agreement on

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, on several occasions I have said how concerned I am about the issue of French in Canada and in Quebec. We did of course reiterate that in the Speech from the Throne. We must do something about this decline of French and that is why we are going to modernize the Offi

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has supported both official languages since 1969. During the Laurendeau-Dunton commission hearings, the importance of French was made abundantly clear, and the commission made good recommendations. At the time, it was actually Pierre Elliott