Senator Carignan: There seems to be a disconnect between what this government says and what it does. Once again, one of the Commissioner of Official Languages’ recommendations is a three-year plan for the Treasury Board to rectify the situation by 2025.

Senator Carignan: There seems to be a disconnect between what this government says and what it does. Once again, one of the Commissioner of Official Languages’ recommendations is a three-year plan for the Treasury Board to rectify the situation by 2025.

Why do we need the Commissioner of Official Languages to come up with a three-year plan? Is this government incapable of governing and making its own plans to address a disastrous report on official languages?

Hon. Claude Carignan: My question is for the Leader of the Government. Leader, the government’s official languages track record is a disaster. We saw further evidence of that when the Commissioner of Official Languages tabled his 2022-23 annual report a few days ago.

The report shows that, between 2013-14 and 2022-23, there was an increase of over 300% just in the number of admissible complaints about institutions that serve the travelling public. Compared to the previous year, it is an increase of 500%.

The reason for this is not just that there have been more complaints about Air Canada. There have been more complaints about all of the other services, including the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the airports, VIA Rail and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Can you explain why this government is doing such a terrible, disastrous job on official languages?

The Hon. the Speaker: I believe that Senator Carignan makes a good point. It would be a good idea to slow down a bit.

Hon. Claude Carignan: The Government Representative in the Senate is delivering a very interesting speech, but he is delivering it at an astounding speed. The poor interpreters are having a hard time keeping up. I understand that he wants to move on quickly, but perhaps he could speak a bit slower for the benefit of the interpreters.

The Hon. the Speaker: I believe that Senator Carignan makes a good point. It would be a good idea to slow down a bit.