Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I had thought about making it short, Mr. Chairman. I do want to
make a few introductory comments before we get into my original introductory remarks.
Mr. Chairman, there has been some suggestion that somehow I not take the criticisms or comments as personal. It becomes personal when people threaten you, not explicitly, but that is the reason I tabled the letters today. I do want to say clearly if you read the documents I tabled today, you would see that I take the issues personally because when a Member in this House is trying to serve the public and serve people in their interest, you take seriously the matters of correspondence in the context they are presented. While it may not necessarily be a concern to others, it does cause me personal concern because the Members of the standing committee have been extremely honourable in their approach to Bill 25. They have been absolutely constructive in all their approaches to the kinds of suggestions they have made and the amendments they have proposed. They have been honourable in terms of the way they have dealt with me and I appreciate that.
Mr. Chairman, I want to say to the Members of the standing committee, who I have had an opportunity to meet when I was dealing with Bill 25, despite the fact that we may have had some differences of opinion, in the end those issues we weren't going to get agreement on, we were able to find ways to respond to concerns that my colleagues had. You at least gave me an opportunity to articulate some of the concerns we had and we were then able to work the issues out.
Mr. Chairman, the interesting part is that this consultation process of the development of this act has been taking place for over five years now. We have sought and gathered comments, and the Standing Committee on Legislation has heard and considered the presentations of many education agencies, organizations and individuals. As a result of these hearings, we supported over 80 motions to improve the content and wording of this bill.
Both in its content and its development, Bill 25 emphasizes that education is a partnership. It gives authority to communities, and communities working together, for the delivery of schooling. It provides the flexibility we need for future constitutional development, it focuses on students and emphasizes the importance of parent participation in education.
Mr. Chairman, many people and organizations made comments on this bill. I would like to thank them, the Members of the standing committee and our staff for their efforts. I believe Bill 25 reflects the time and effort it was given. It is a very significant piece of legislation, which I am proud to present.
Mr. Chairman, I just want to say that I still have several amendments to make. I believe that we'll continue to improve the legislation, but I do want to say that, despite what criticisms may arise, I believe that Bill 25 responds to section 23 of the Canadian Charter; it responds favourably. It also responds to many of the court decisions that I've had an opportunity to read. In fact, Mr. Chairman, every other piece of legislation in this country has generally one section, with the exception of the Manitoba act which amendment their legislation to be more specific about the whole matter of Francophone education. In their particular case, it was quite clear that they had the capacity to do that. In our particular situation, there's a new situation in the north. The legislation allows us both the ability to recognize the commit?, the conseil with all its authority, and the responsibility for French language programming. It does not deal with the matter of superintendents, but that is to be left up to the commission to deal with. The conseils are in existence already. So it is clear, even in that authority, that we ensure that there is the authority necessary for the Francophone community and parents to assume the responsibility necessary.
I want to say to my honourable colleagues here, so that it's absolutely clear, that I did meet with the Francophone representatives. I indicated quite clearly that they would be involved in the development of the regulations -- that was absolutely clear in our meetings -- and that I would consult with them on the development of those regulations. I would not work in the absence of that group because it's my view that they have an important part to play and it's necessary for them to be recognized for their important role in these regulations. A letter will be going out accordingly, Mr. Chairman, so that all Members know that it is a serious commitment.
The other issue that I want to be clear about is that our agreement, several years ago, will be included in the regulations. It's my belief that the development of regulations, based on the agreement in 1992, clearly ensures that we are within the scope of section 23. In fact, we exceed what has normally been the court rulings in this country.
Despite that situation, we're prepared to work with the agreement in mind, recognizing our commitments to date. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.