Liberal MP apologizes for calling witnesses on language committee 'full of s---'

Liberal MP Francis Drouin answers a question in the House of Commons, February 2, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Franco-Ontarian MP Francis Drouin apologized on Thursday for referring to witnesses three days earlier as 'extremists' and 'full of s---.'

"Any witness who comes before this committee should feel free to have a conversation in a respectful environment. I didn't do that on Monday, so I apologize again to Mr. Bourdon and Mr. Lacroix," said Drouin at a meeting of the standing committee on official languages.

At the previous meeting on Monday, the MP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell took exception to comments made by researcher Frédéric Lacroix and CEGEP professor Nicolas Bourdon.

The two witnesses had explained, based on Statistics Canada data, that when a francophone or allophone attends an English-language university or CEGEP, this significantly increases the probability that he or she will go on to live his or her life in English.

They had been invited to share views with parliamentarians as part of a study into financing English-language post-secondary institutions in Quebec and French-language institutions elsewhere in the country.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 9, 2024.