Official Languages committee  Our thanks to everyone, Mr. Chair. It has been a pleasure and an honour.

Official Languages committee  Very few Franco-Ontarian books are translated. Actually, that is one of our difficulties. As I am sure you know, under the present roadmap, there is a $5-million program to translate works in French into English and works in English into French. That is great for our country's duality.

Official Languages committee  We don't know yet because we are not ready.

Official Languages committee  Absolutely.

Official Languages committee  We are not ready in terms of that submission.

Official Languages committee  No, I do not think that it receives any because the Bill 51 program does not stipulate any amounts. It's just in the regulations that arise from an act. Under the regulations, as we have said before on a number of occasions, Quebec has accredited booksellers and they have to do this, that and the other.

Official Languages committee  We are in the process of preparing a submission that we are going to present to a committee similar to yours at Queen's Park.

Official Languages committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  No.

Official Languages committee  I was talking about the Regroupement des éditeurs canadiens-français site.

Official Languages committee  The answer is a resounding “yes”. Let me tell you the story of Radio-Canada's wonderful Prix des lecteurs. A Radio-Canada host in Sudbury started them there in 2001; he wanted to encourage literature and culture by establishing a readers' prize for Franco-Ontarian authors. So he asked his bosses for permission and they approved it.

Official Languages committee  I think you just have to quote a figure from a Conference Board of Canada study. It states that cultural activity in Canada generates between $80 and $85 billion for the country's economy. That is about 5% of our gross domestic product. You cannot turn up your nose at an amount like that.

Official Languages committee  Absolutely.

Official Languages committee  I don't think we need to impose anything on Canadians at all. I think we just have to show them the extraordinary richness and amazing potential of our linguistic duality. I say, as does our association, that we are one of the most fortunate of societies in having two of the most prestigious and culture-laden languages on the planet.

Official Languages committee  Absolutely. That is one of the reasons why we are here. If I may, very quickly, I would like to sum up our position. The Franco-Ontarian literature available is amazing, but the demand is not there. That is not because people do not want to ask for it; it is because there is no channel to encourage and create the demand in schools.