Hon. Pierre De Bané:

Honourable senators, I first want to say how much I appreciate that finally, in that configuration, one topic will not be avoided, which is culture. Culture deals with what we are — our values, our hopes, our fears — and who we are for each other. That topic — the identity of Canadians and what is at the core of our values — is something that will finally be considered.

Part of the reason for fostering the preservation, growth and deepening of culture is that it is inextricably linked to languages. We state in our Constitution that the official languages are a fundamental dimension of our country. Through language and culture, we communicate with each other about our history and our artifacts; we culminate our hopes, our fears and our aspirations; we assert our rights; and we find common ground to live together.

Honourable senators, language is the essence of culture, and culture is the essence of language. No one in this country would understand putting language in one committee and culture in another committee, as this report purports to propose. No one would understand that separation.

Culture is the essence of language, and language is the essence of culture. Most of what we create culturally is expressed, explained or debated through language. For example, theatre, literature, poetry, television, film, radio, news media, magazines — all these areas are language based. If one looks at how our government is structured, in one department we have the preservation and enhancement of the languages. All the federal programs related to culture, whether it is the CBC, Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the National Film Board or the National Arts Council, we need to have both the programs and the values in one department. In my opinion, no one who is interested in those issues will understand the logic of separating them into different committees in our house.

I now move the adjournment of the debate. At a later stage, I will continue, and propose an amendment that I hope will be considered by my colleagues.

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