Official Languages committee  I suppose that Mr. Toews was alluding to criminal law because the freedom of individuals was at issue and this is a very significant matter.

Official Languages committee  No. I would like to make some clarifications. In my presentation, I wanted to say that certain rights were different from others. Minority language rights go back to the Quebec Act of 1774. It would be different if we were to put these rights on a equal footing with the Charter

Official Languages committee  If, legally speaking, there has to be such a program in order for the government to comply with the law, I am not against the idea. As I said, it is incumbent upon this committee to determine whether that is the case and, if so, to make the necessary recommendation. It is not abo

Official Languages committee  It is the government and not me who will decide on this matter. The government is sovereign and determines which programs it will establish in order to exercise its rights fully. It is important to remember that this is up to the discretion of the government. Parliament is always

Official Languages committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  This was exactly the problem with the program, and Mr. Benson also discussed it. Groups such as Kids First, other family-oriented groups, REAL Women, and the Nisga'a elders in British Columbia were specifically denied funding. They were told they were not going to get the money.

Official Languages committee  I think that the frames of the charter do not put sexual orientation into the charter. I think that under the term “sex” it would have been possible to include sexual orientation without necessarily invoking the reading-in doctrine. Using the reading-in doctrine makes the legisla

Official Languages committee  I don't think the cut was ideological in nature. I think the program actually was ideological in nature from its inception--not the official languages part, in 1978, that was different; I wouldn't qualify that as ideological. But on the cut to the whole program, the program had

Official Languages committee  No, I'm saying that it actually levels the playing field between groups. There has been 25 years of this; we don't need it any more.

Official Languages committee  Well, there are examples of that, if you'll permit me. The program was spending $1,421 per application on public awareness instead of actually on the program itself.

Official Languages committee  I agree that a constitution such as ours is a living tree, but that does not make it incumbent on a government to fund every single program under the sun. They can choose. Parliament is still sovereign in terms of the programs they fund to pursue certain goals.

Official Languages committee  I am familiar with the reference, but not the fine detail of it.

Official Languages committee  If I could just comment there, I think that is exactly the problem. This committee is here to discuss official languages and the respect for official languages. In answer to your question, Ms. Savoie, if you want to convince the government to protect linguistic minorities, you

Official Languages committee  Yes, your question is—