Canadian Heritage committee  First of all, the basic suggestion that a government will not adopt unconstitutional legislation is an absurdity. Is that to question that the judiciary is no longer a legitimate and vital branch of democracy? That leaves us rather speechless. Secondly, if you look at the import

Canadian Heritage committee  I would like us to get over the idea that we are advocating for programs which only matter to minorities. A few years ago, in Quebec, a poll asked the following question: Should the anglophone linguistic minority have access to essential health services in its languages? A vast

Canadian Heritage committee  We would greatly welcome it, with the proviso that like any law adopted by a government it would be subject to the full scrutiny of the courts and complete access to those courts. Otherwise we would have difficulties understanding the full value of that law, no matter how well it

Official Languages committee  The situation for both sides is extremely specific and important. If we talk about the evolution of minority linguistic rights with regard to education, first in response to the suggestion, which even the Commissioner has denied, that what has been done has already been done, the

Official Languages committee  But if the survival and vitality of these communities are, as set out in the act, a concern of this government and, as Mr. Fraser said, there has been no consultation, hence they have not complied with the act. It seems self-evident to us that the program needs to be restored. I

Official Languages committee  It's a bit loud. It's okay.

Official Languages committee  Not currently, but some years ago, the Quebec English School Boards Association did.

Official Languages committee  Well, simply put— If you were a Canadian-born child who studied in English, under Bill 101 you would not have been able--as a Canadian citizen who grew up in English, one of Canada's official languages--to send your child to school in English in Quebec. Thanks to the court ch

Official Languages committee  We find it hard to understand the logic behind such an observation.

Official Languages committee  If I might, with all due respect, we understand that the witnesses are here to testify. We can enjoy your debate between you. With all due respect, as the beneficiaries of this program—and we're speaking for individuals in our communities—we would say that the program needs to b

Official Languages committee  We agree that a large portion is allocated to Quebec, because we have the good fortune, under the act, to have two education networks: one anglophone and one francophone. But there is about $26 million a year that is designated to community initiatives that are absolutely essent

Official Languages committee  I'll agree with my president on that.

Official Languages committee  The portrait our president has laid out reminds us of why we must see in any future road map the maintenance of Canada-provincial ententes that are not contribution agreements. We've heard some ill winds about that possibility, which would be an absolute and unmitigated disaster.

Official Languages committee  It's important that the committee knows that the person who did this study is the chief advisor to future, former, and current Parti Québécois leaders. That was not noted in the study itself.

Official Languages committee  To start with, we have no assurance that one penny of that money would go to what the Official Languages Act and the Constitution of Canada requires this level of government to worry about, which is an equitable delivery of services to all Quebec students. We're not imputing any