Annex B: French-Speaking Immigrants

1.0 Preamble

1.1 Whereas Canada and New Brunswick have a mutual interest in attracting and retaining French-Speaking Immigrants.

1.2 And Whereas Canada and New Brunswick recognize that the French language is both a historic and living language in the province and that New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province within Canada.

1.3 And Whereas Canada recognizes the objectives of New Brunswick, which include:

1. attracting French-Speaking Immigrants to New Brunswick to maintain the unique linguistic balance of the province;
2. strengthening New Brunswick’s ability to attract and retain French-Speaking Immigrants by proactively encouraging immigration of French-Speaking individuals, and raising awareness of settlement and integration services available in French; and
3. partnering with the Government of Canada in pursuit of achieving New Brunswick’s goal of increasing the number of French-Speaking Immigrants to the province, to 33% of provincial immigration.

1.4 And Whereas New Brunswick recognizes the objectives of the IRPA to, among other things:

1. enrich and strengthen the cultural and social fabric of Canadian society, while respecting the federal, bilingual and multicultural character of Canada; and
2. support and assist the development of minority official languages communities in Canada.

1.5 And Whereas New Brunswick recognizes the objectives of the Official Languages Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.), including those under Part VII, to, among other things:

1. enhance the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and support and assist their development; and
2. foster the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society.

1.6 And Whereas New Brunswick recognizes that Canada has a federal framework to promote official languages and attract French-Speaking Immigrants to enhance the vitality of Francophone Minority Communities in Canada.

1.7 And Whereas Canada recognizes the objectives of An Act Recognizing the Equality of
the Two Official Linguistic Communities in New Brunswick to, among other things, promote cultural, economic, educational and social development of both official language communities.

1.8 And Whereas Canada recognizes that New Brunswick has a provincial framework to consider both official languages when pursuing its immigration targets and take advantage of official bilingualism for the purposes of economic development and job creation.

1.9 And Whereas Canada is working with all provinces and territories, including New Brunswick, under the Federal-Provincial/Territorial Strategic Plan for Immigration to increase the number of French-Speaking Immigrants outside of Quebec.

1.10 And Whereas Canada and New Brunswick recognize the importance of working in partnership with other ministries or departments with various levels of government in Canada, and with stakeholders, to achieve the goal of increased Francophone immigration.

1.11 And Whereas Canada and New Brunswick recognize that Francophone Minority Communities and many other stakeholders (including, but not limited to, education, private employers, health and the not-for-profit sector) are critical in supporting the attraction, integration and retention of French-Speaking Immigrants to New Brunswick.

Therefore, the Parties agree to the following:

2.0 Purpose

2.1 The purpose of this Annex, pursuant to 3.3 of the Canada-New Brunswick Immigration Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”), is to facilitate cooperation between the Parties regarding French-Speaking Immigrants, and to define the respective roles and responsibilities of the Parties in achieving the objectives set out in section 3.0.

3.0 Objectives

3.1 The objectives of this Annex are to:

3.1.1 to continue to support the increase of the number of French-Speaking Immigrants to New Brunswick; and

3.1.2 to help New Brunswick facilitate the settlement and integration of French-Speaking Immigrants, including by raising awareness of integration services available in French.

4.0 Promotion and Recruitment

4.1 The Parties will continue to jointly promote, where possible, immigration to Francophone Minority Communities located in New Brunswick, and will work towards the establishment of a targeted promotion and recruitment strategy that could include events such as immigration information sessions, web conferences, job fairs and forums (e.g. Destination Acadie and Destination Canada).

4.2 The Parties will encourage, where possible, employers to participate in national and international mobility forums or job fairs organized by the various levels of government in Canada in order to facilitate the hiring of qualified French-speaking and bilingual workers.

4.3 The Parties will support, where possible, promotion and recruitment events organized by either Party to promote Canada or New Brunswick as a destination of choice for French-speaking economic immigrants, with the objective of meeting Canada’s and New Brunswick’s Francophone immigration targets.

4.4 The Parties will work together, where possible, to promote to employers the advantages of French-Speaking Immigrants and bilingual immigrants as a potential option to meet employer needs within the province.

4.5 The Parties will continue to promote Francophone Minority Communities in New Brunswick and support New Brunswick’s objectives to foster the regionalization of Francophone immigration outside of large urban centres, including to small, rural and northern communities.

4.6 The Parties will collaborate with Francophone immigration community partnership organizations and networks to ensure clear and accurate messaging when promoting Francophone immigration to New Brunswick and attracting French-Speaking Immigrants to the province.

4.7 New Brunswick agrees to promote the province as a destination of choice to French-Speaking and bilingual Temporary Residents currently residing in the province, including those participating in the International Mobility Program and International Students Program, in order to inform them of federal economic programs under Express Entry, the province’s Provincial Nominee streams under Express Entry, and New Brunswick’s Provincial Nominee Program outside of Express Entry.

4.8 The Parties, where possible, agree to develop joint initiatives (e.g. sector partnerships) that promote Francophone immigration and support the recruitment of French-Speaking Immigrants to New Brunswick.

5.0 Selection of Permanent Residents

5.1 New Brunswick agrees to support the use of the Provincial Nominee stream for French-speaking candidates, in accordance with Annex A, as an option to increase the number of French-Speaking Immigrants destined to New Brunswick.

5.2 New Brunswick agrees to:

1. share information on qualified French-speaking candidates in the Express Entry pool with employers interested in hiring French-speaking and bilingual foreign nationals for a permanent position in New Brunswick, in compliance with privacy laws; and
2. encourage employers to use Job Bank to find qualified French-speaking and bilingual foreign nationals to fill permanent positions in the province.

5.3 Canada agrees to take into account, where possible, New Brunswick’s goal of increasing the number of French-Speaking Immigrants when determining the destination of Government Assisted Refugees who are to be resettled in communities in the province.

6.0 Settlement, Integration and Refugee Resettlement

6.1 The Parties will take into account the settlement and integration needs of French-Speaking Immigrants and emphasize the provision of services by Francophone organizations (e.g. “by and for” Francophones) when establishing priorities and developing settlement and resettlement services relevant to this Agreement with the goal of increasing the capacity to settle and integrate French-Speaking Immigrants, and enhancing the vitality, of Francophone Minority Communities in New Brunswick.

6.2 The Parties recognize that the commitments set out in section 9 of the Agreement include French-Speaking Immigrants as part of the targeted population.

6.3 The Parties will collaborate to foster welcoming and vibrant Francophone Minority Communities in New Brunswick, supported by direct and sustainable connections between immigrants and local and regional Francophone Minority Communities.

6.4 The Parties, where possible, will work with other governments in Canada, and regional and local organizations to foster the integration of French-Speaking Immigrants in New Brunswick with a focus on improving regional labour market outcomes and social and cultural integration.

6.5 The Parties, where possible, will work with Francophone immigration community partnership organizations and networks to help increase the capacity of Francophone Minority Communities to settle and integrate French-Speaking Immigrants.

6.6 The Parties will foster the development, promotion and delivery of Francophone settlement services for French-Speaking Immigrants (which may include: pre-arrival services, services upon arrival, needs assessment and referrals, information and orientation, language training, employment related services, and community connections); and resettlement services for French-Speaking Refugees in New Brunswick in a consistent and flexible manner.

6.7 The Parties will work to engage with employers and local partners to improve labour market outcomes and to raise awareness of the competitive advantages of hiring French-Speaking Immigrants.

7.0 Information Sharing

7.1 The Parties agree to share best practices with regard to the selection, promotion, recruitment, attraction, integration and retention of French-Speaking Immigrants.

7.2 The Parties agree that any information sharing required in support of this Annex is set out in the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Information Sharing Between Canada and New Brunswick in accordance with applicable privacy laws and the Agreement.

7.3 The Parties commit to creating a sufficiently robust monitoring mechanism to ensure concrete implementation of the commitments made: regular meetings, reporting, production of evidence, etc.

8.0 General

8.1 The Focal Points for the purpose of communication and notification pursuant to this Annex are:

8.1.1 for Canada, the Director General, Francophone Immigration and Official Languages (Part VII) Directorate; and

8.1.2 for New Brunswick, the Vice President, Immigration, Opportunities New Brunswick.