Ottaws, Ontario KIA0A2 ‘Dear Mr. Cutting: Fes 14207 ‘want to chank you and the Townshippery’ Assocation for taking the time to write ta me {ollowing my recent vist 0 Sherbrooke. re telecom yond alte communion it hve ese oneing my French responses to English questions First of al let me be clear that my personal commitment and love for our two offical Janguages is unequivocal. Ihave stood up may entire life for out linguistic minorities across the country. and I wil continue t do soas Prime Minister. ‘As for the Sherbrooke town hall, would like co express my sincere serets to you and to the catize community. Canada ea bilingual county, and as such, I secognze tha | should have answered questions in the language they were asked, be it in Quebec or anywhere cee in Canada You can rest assured that I wil do so inthe future. Following tha town hall meeting, I had a conversation with Mes. Ross, where I expressed _my regrets and answered her question. Ithank her for her de and kindness well as her ‘commitment towards mental health, want you to know that I clesty undesstand the importance of the Prime Minster of (Canada speaking to minority language communities in their own language. M, Gerald R. Casting President ‘Townshippess’ Association 100.257 Queen Street Sherbrooke, Québec JM IKTAAs you may know, I grew up ina house where both languages were commonly used. My ‘mother is English-speaking and my father firmly believed in the importance of bilingualism, the histosical importance of our two official languages, and the richness that sulted fom theit ‘coexistence. Ishate these beliefs and out two offical languages are part of my cultural heritage. | want to reterate my government’ commitment to supporting our oficial language ‘minority communities. We recognize the importance and role ofthese communities in out society. ‘We also recogsize that these communities face many challenges and ate counting on ous support. [know that the Minister of Canadian Hetitage, the Honorable Mélanie Joly, has also heard ‘you. As you know, she i curently preparing our governments fst action plan on official languages. ‘And the Honorable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minster of latenational Development and 12 Francophonie and MP for Compton-Stanstead is also great ally ‘You can count on them, just s you can count on me and all our Government Sincerely,