QUESTION PERIOD — Canadian Heritage
Commitment to Bilingualism
December 2, 2021
My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. I must begin by telling you how impressed I was by the letter the Minister of Finance, Ms. Freeland, sent to the CEO of Air Canada, Michael Rousseau, to denounce his attitude toward bilingualism and his affront to all francophones in the country, which your Prime Minister described as a gaffe. I hope that Ms. Freeland will undertake a rigorous follow-up of the commitments she received from the Air Canada board of directors. In fact, I wonder why it was not the Prime Minister himself who signed that letter on behalf of Canadians and francophones, a group to which I belong. I could also ask you whether the Prime Minister was uncomfortable with requiring the CEO of a private company to be bilingual when he himself did not observe that rule in appointing the Governor General of Canada.
With respect to the issue involving the CEO of Air Canada, the Prime Minister and Minister Freeland work as a team.
As for the Governor General’s bilingualism, first, I hope that Canadians agree with me to say that the effort the Governor General made in delivering the Speech from the Throne was impressive. She clearly made a great effort, and that was a sign of respect for our official languages. We should also note the historic significance of this event, because this is the first time a female Innu member of our Indigenous peoples has become Governor General. It is a credit to the government that it made that choice, but it is also an honour for Canadians.
Government leader, you talked about the Governor General’s impressive effort in delivering the Speech from the Throne. Wouldn’t you agree that the amount of time the Governor General spent speaking French during the speech would have been more appropriate for one of this country’s dialects than for a constitutionally recognized official language?
Canada’s two official languages are fundamental to its identity. Recognition of Indigenous languages is also an important step on the path to reconciliation. I think the appointment of the current Governor General and her commitment to mastering French are assets for Canada.
