Official Languages committee  You have to start by respecting the levels of government we've created. We've created a federal government, provincial governments, municipalities and school boards. When you create a level of government with resources and responsibilities entrenched in laws, you have to abide by those laws.

Official Languages committee  I'm not here to criticize anyone, but I will say we're dealing with a total lack of creativity, and that's our biggest problem.

Official Languages committee  Especially on your part, and by that I mean on the part of Canadian parliamentarians, but I'd also say on the part of the officials who administer the funding. In Newfoundland and Labrador, I maintained that they had to stop establishing federal-provincial agreements on education that entailed direct cultural development commitments.

Official Languages committee  All right. They stem from the aspirations of the people who speak one of those two official languages: French. They stem from the willingness of people to do millions of hours of volunteer work to improve the situation of their communities and to help reinforce French in their respective provinces.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, members, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. My name is Ali Chaisson, and I am the executive director of the Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick, the SANB. The SANB, which was founded in 1973, is the political voice for the Acadian nation of New Brunswick. It is dedicated to defending and promoting the rights an interests of that province’s Acadian nation.