Thank you, Mr. Chair.
In my view, the principle that no Canadian who participates in a judicial process should be prejudiced in his or her choice of either official language is an important principle. However, I would exclude from amendment BQ‑7 everything that comes after the word “person”.
As Mr. Newman said, we have no business interfering in the judicial process. We need to leave that responsibility where it belongs. The powers need to be separated.
Therefore, I would be in favour of accepting the text in the first three sentences of amendment BQ‑7 and deleting the rest of the text.
I think it is important that all Canadians have access to justice in both English and French across Canada. The number of judges is not important. What matters is that Canadians can be heard by judges in the language of their choice and in a timely manner.