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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 195

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 11, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 195 - May/11/23
Hon. Greg Fergus (Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)
  • May/11/23 5:33:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Ontario, who was born in British Columbia, on the quality of his French. I know that he is of Italian origin and he also speaks English, but it warms my heart to hear him speak French. Often, when people talk about the Century Initiative, they say that it is a federal government initiative. We know that is a false argument because it is just one initiative out of the 3,000 stakeholders that chose to submit ideas to the federal government. The government does not have any intention of increasing the Canadian population to 100 million people. Can my colleague make a few comments on this? How can we encourage francophone immigration in Canada and certainly in Quebec?
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Context: House Hansard - 195 - May/11/23
Hon. Greg Fergus (Hull—Aylmer, Lib.)
  • May/11/23 6:02:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as a Quebecker, I would like to thank my colleague. We definitely do not have the same point of view. In my community, which is not that far from his, there are many francophones and many new immigrants from western Africa and Haiti. The percentage of these immigrants has increased significantly. Why are these people settling in Quebec? It is because they have the right to continue speaking French, living in French, going to school in French and seeing their family grow in French. These people play such a significant role in building the vibrant province and country I call home, and I believe that is a good thing. I would like to hear my colleague's comments on that, because for me it is obvious.
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