Mr. Speaker, la Semaine nationale de la Francophonie, which is drawing to a close, provides an opportunity to emphasize the key role played by the
Francophonie in Quebec and Canada, which, it must be emphasized, ranks second in the world after France.
Beyond the statements and the official ceremonies, this event makes us realize how extremely vulnerable the French language is in Canada. On Wednesday, the Journée internationale de la Francophonie, I shared with this House distressing statistics regarding the rate at which francophones are being assimilated outside Quebec, especially in British Columbia, where the assimilation rate of francophones is as high as 75 per cent.
That was the precise moment that one of our colleagues from the Reform Party picked to utter in a very loud voice: "It can't be soon enough", suggesting by this petty and uncalled for remark that francophones can never be assimilated quickly enough and that a 75 per cent rate of assimilation is not high enough.
I am sure that you will want to join me, Mr. Speaker, in condemning such deplorable expressions of intolerance.