Honourable senators, before I describe the problem that our country is facing, I want to explain my vision of bilingualism in Canada to you. The problem with our bilingual system is that it doesn’t encourage bilingualism. It’s a system that encourages division rather than unity. Francophone communities across the country are surrounded by much larger anglophone communities. Quebec, which is supposed to carry the French-language torch, is surrounded by anglophone forces to the south, north, east and west. Even Montreal, which is our largest French-speaking city, is becoming more and more anglophone.

The strategy we are using is not working. The status of French is declining at an alarming speed. French is seen by many newcomers and anglophones who settle in francophone areas as a necessary evil. French should not be an obstacle to prosperity, but a tool for attaining it. French and English should go hand in hand, rather than being opposing forces. We should encourage true bilingualism so that francophone and anglophone communities can be truly united and so that we can break down the language barriers holding so many people back.

Politicians from all parties use the issue of language to win votes and score political points. Unfortunately, despite the fact that official languages are a recurring theme in political discourse, very little effective concrete action is being taken to address the plight of Canadian bilingualism. Let’s stop using language as a political tool. Let’s unite our voices in both French and English, to make Canada into a truly bilingual country. That will be good for everyone.

I would now like to discuss one of the most damaging decisions the Trudeau government has made since taking power.

In recent months, we have seen proof of this government’s corruption in the WE Charity scandal. The scandal proved that the Trudeau family and its Liberal friends have zero scruples around money. They accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars and luxury trips from a foundation that does not even pay its speakers. The scandal was so serious that the Minister of Finance had to resign because he had accepted bribes from WE Charity too. His actions were so unacceptable that the only member with the skills to fill the position of Minister of Finance had to resign. That kind of behaviour on the part of our democratically elected leaders is totally unacceptable. However, this is not the first time Justin Trudeau has refused to acknowledge a conflict of interest when doing so benefits him. It is the third.

What is even more disgraceful is the fact that all the bribes that WE Charity paid to the Prime Minister’s mother, brother and wife, and to the Prime Minister himself, obviously worked. After Justin Trudeau’s family members were handsomely paid for their volunteer work, then it was time for the Prime Minister of Canada himself to return the favour to his friends, the Kielburger brothers. He therefore unilaterally decided to award them the contract to manage the $900-million Canada Student Service Grant program, without issuing a call for tenders and without even thinking of giving this responsibility to the public service, which, according to several reports, would have been perfectly capable of handling that program. It really pays to be Justin Trudeau’s friend, seeing as WE Charity was supposed to get $43.5 million to distribute those grants.

The facts I just outlined are simply unacceptable, and yet our esteemed Prime Minister went even further in his contempt for Canadian taxpayers. To top it all off, WE Charity, the organization that greased the palms of Mr. Trudeau and his family, wasn’t even qualified to handle the French portion of the grants. Although Mr. Trudeau was very generous with taxpayers’ money to his friends, he wasn’t astute enough to realize that his gift to the Kielburger brothers was in violation of the Official Languages Act. Mr. Trudeau has such contempt for francophone communities across the country that he forgot to take this into account when he hatched his plan to reward his friends. After paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to his entourage, it turned out that WE Charity was not the only organization qualified to manage those grants. In fact, WE Charity was not at all qualified to take on that responsibility.

Honourable senators, despite the seriousness of the facts I just shared with you, I would like to point out something that is even more troubling to many Canadians. The inability of WE Charity to run the grant program in French is more evidence that the Liberals have no interest in the French language. Funnily enough, this is not the first time the Liberals have disrespected one of our great country’s two official languages. A Liberal MP from Quebec recently cast doubt on the decline in French in Quebec. Ironically, that member was elected in a riding in the Montreal area where French is under serious threat. That MP’s comments were so disrespectful that Mélanie Joly, the Liberal minister responsible for official languages, called her out in public. The MP in question apologized for her insensitive comments on social media, but it was too little, too late. She had once again proven that the Liberals do not care about the status of French in Canada, much less Quebec.

We have heard such comments before from senior Liberals. In September, the Quebec president of the Liberal Party of Canada stated on social media that Bill 101 was “oppressive” and that it has ruined English-language education. Naturally, honourable senators, like good Liberals, when they started being heavily criticized for their unacceptable remarks, they both apologized on social media. The Quebec president of the Liberal Party of Canada went so far as to delete her tweet in an attempt at damage control. No letter of apology can excuse the ignorance of the French language shown by these two senior Liberals. Unfortunately for francophones in Canada, these two people were merely saying out loud what the government thinks in private.

No matter what the Liberals think about the decline of the French language, it is frankly irresponsible to suggest that it is not happening. As a bilingual nation, we cannot allow ourselves to set aside one of our founding languages. After seeing that French is very much in decline, the least the Liberal government should do is provide equivalent services in English and French.

That is why I rise today to condemn the federal government’s actions against one of our great country’s founding languages. French is in trouble across Canada and even in Quebec. The government is trotting out its usual platitudes, promising that French has never been in a better position. That statement is completely false, and something needs to be done right now.

The status of French could certainly be improved through assistance programs and other subsidies. However, the only way to protect French in the long run is for the government to show French the respect it deserves as an official language.

Despite the obvious corruption I’ve described, the most harmful part of this scandal is the blatant lack of respect for the French language. The fact that WE Charity had to hire the public relations firm National to administer the grant program in French was totally illegal under section 25 of the Official Languages Act. Section 25 states that any organization providing services on behalf of the federal government must do so in both official languages. The program that the federal government concocted for WE Charity was not designed in compliance with the Official Languages Act. It is therefore up to us, as parliamentarians, to speak out in support of French and to make sure it is respected. Too often, Francophone communities across Canada are left behind, and we owe it to them to use our power to ensure that the French language gets the respect it deserves.

The government owes us an explanation for its decision to give the grant distribution contract to an organization that could not provide services in both official languages. That kind of decision must have consequences. If we do not get to the bottom of this matter, this kind of violation is likely to become increasingly frequent, and that hurts all of Canada’s francophone communities.

For these reasons, I move that the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages be authorized to examine and report on the Government of Canada’s decision to award a contract for a student grant program to WE Charity, a third party without the capacity to provide services in both official languages, in apparent contravention of Canada’s Official Languages Act.

Honourable senators, I hope you will support this motion. This request is entirely non-partisan. It’s simply an action we must take if we are to prosper as a bilingual nation.

Thank you, honourable senators.

With pleasure.

Firstly, I completely agree with you that every political party and every politician in Canada often uses French and bilingualism as a political tool, which is unfortunate.

In the meantime, we’re going through a serious crisis in Canada. We’re an officially bilingual country. However, my concern as a parliamentarian has to do with the fact that the regions outside Quebec are becoming increasingly anglophone and Quebec is becoming increasingly unilingual francophone. In my opinion, this phenomenon doesn’t promote national unity. We have to have a common vision, a vision that uses our two founding languages as tools for unifying the country.

As for your second question, I’m proud, as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada caucus, that our leader, Erin O’Toole, made his position on the decline of French clear. He’s prepared to go much farther to support the French language than any other leader of a national party, in my opinion. That is good news for bilingualism and the French language.

When a government violates the Official Languages Act, as the current government did with the contract it wanted to award to the WE Charity, institutions like the Senate are forced to take measures to protect the purpose and spirit of that legislation.

Your time has expired, senator. Would you like another five minutes to answer questions?