QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety
Royal Canadian Mounted Police--Francophone Cadets
May 8, 2019
My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Regrettably, I didn’t get the chance to ask the minister this question yesterday, so I’ll ask it now. As of April 1, francophone RCMP cadets no longer have access to training in French. They have to register for bilingual training. It is a major blow to francophone minority communities, especially in rural regions where the RCMP provides services. As they indicate in their letter, Conservative MPs Alupa Clarke and Pierre Paul-Hus consider this to be a violation of the Official Languages Act. Why does your government support this decision and when will you reinstate the francophone program?
I thank the honourable senator for her question. I regret she wasn’t able to call the question to the attention of the minister yesterday. I will do so and return the answer to the honourable senator.