Wednesday, 05 October 2011 16:37
Debates of the Senate - Question Period
Hon. Maria Chaput: Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
Last week, I raised serious concerns about the fact that Mr. Persichilli, a man who until recently wrote anti-French comments in his newspaper column, is now the Prime Minister's director of communications.
Now, this week, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has decided to have business cards printed in English only. I would like to repeat my question: what message is the government trying to send to Canada's francophone communities when the Prime Minister's main spokesperson feels there are too many francophones in Ottawa and Canada's main spokesperson abroad refuses to include one of Canada's two official languages on his business cards?
Hon. Marjory LeBreton (Leader of the Government): I hope, honourable senators, that I made it clear last week when I answered the question that the opinions expressed by Mr. Persichilli in the Toronto Star column are not reflective of the government or of the Prime Minister. In fairness, Senator Chaput, I would ask you to read the column. The way it was interpreted was much more severe than what he actually said in the column. Having said that, I am not in any way defending his position as a columnist. The Prime Minister is a friend of Quebec. He is a friend of the francophone language and community. He has proven it in many ways, such as recognition of the Québécois nation, the fixing of the fiscal imbalance, the granting to Quebec of a place at UNESCO, the announcement last Friday regarding the harmonized sales tax, and the announcement today about the Champlain Bridge.
Honourable senators, the government's absolute adherence to the Official Languages Act and linguistic duality is reflected in everything the Prime Minister does and every word he utters. Mr. Persichilli is a very solid Canadian citizen and very qualified in communications. He has taken up the position of communications director in the Prime Minister's Office. Other people have been hired in the Prime Minister's Office and are mindful and concentrating on matters of linguistic duality and Quebec.
With regard to the business cards of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, that is again an example of relying on information in the newspaper. As I reported to the chamber yesterday, Minister Baird's business cards are printed in both of Canada's official languages.