Official Languages committee  Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me. I am very pleased to share my observations and recommendations on the modernization of the Official Languages Act. I will begin by setting out a series of principles and providing our vision of the current state of official languages.

Official Languages committee  I'm used to speaking very quickly. I'll try to slow down. The majority of the country, about 80% and a little bit more, is actually unilingual, unable to speak both official languages. They may be bilingual or trilingual in other languages, but in terms of our understanding of bilingualism officially, the vast majority is unilingual.

Official Languages committee  That's fine; I understand everything.

Official Languages committee  Personally, I think there is too much timidity in the discourse, if we consider our country's history and evolution. We have had another era when we were ready to violate the rights of minorities, as they had been conceived in contemporary society. The situation was rectified in the 1970s and 1980s, but there is still a timidity that prevents us from moving forward and being very clear about our collective responsibility towards linguistic minorities.

Official Languages committee  I think it would be quite difficult to bring our first ministers together at a meeting. For some of them, their interests are more related to their geography and demographics. They have their respective constraints. However, there are many organizations and thinkers across Canada who would be willing to celebrate and commemorate—we will see this year—the progress made in terms of linguistic duality and bilingualism.

Official Languages committee  As we say in English "Use it or lose it”.

Official Languages committee  I think there are challenges associated with advancing the condition of some of those communities, particularly the ones outside Montreal. There are also challenges for English speakers in Montreal, as we know. Again, these are all connected to the politics and jurisdictional disputes and respective interests of some of the elected officials as they determine that protection of French, which is a valid objective in Quebec, is in some ways threatened by the presence of the English language, and the communities that express themselves in that language.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. My thanks also to the members of the committee for inviting me to share my thoughts on the status of the debate over official languages and linguistic duality in Canada, especially in Quebec. I will start with my observations and end with some recommendations on immigration.

Official Languages committee  In the case that Mr. Dupuis referred to, a very specific target was set for immigration. You must establish the resources and the process to reach this target. Don't create targets that are too vague because they're open to interpretation. The targets must be more specific.

Official Languages committee  I will comment on French speakers because the bulk of francophones in Quebec, particularly in Montreal, want to learn English. The problem arises in high school, where English instruction does not seem to be adequate for a certain number of francophones. That is probably one of the reasons why, in the era of globalization, some francophones wish to continue their education in English and become more proficient in English.

Official Languages committee  I think it depends on the programs, rather than the actual organization.

Official Languages committee  Programs should determine, on the basis of the terms of reference, which organizations receive funding, be it the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste or another organization.

Official Languages committee  An effort is needed to increase the percentage of Canadians who speak French outside Quebec. For example, I think a lot more could be done to encourage anglophones in Ottawa, the national capital region, to become bilingual. It requires finding direct and indirect ways to promote French.

Official Languages committee  Which topic would you like me to comment on?

Official Languages committee  I don't think the situations of communities across the country are entirely symmetrical. We can't compare the circumstances of anglophones who live in certain parts of Quebec with the circumstances of francophones living in Chicoutimi or even New Brunswick. I know it's nice to have a national plan that relies on a symmetrical approach to foster as much equality as possible, but proportionality should really be applied.