LANG – The Hon. Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Standing Committee on Official Languages – March 28, 2022

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Good morning Chair and member of the Committee. 

I would like to acknowledge that I'm joining you virtually from the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabe people. (OR …virtually from my riding of Central Nova, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’ Kmaw People.)

The Government of Canada recognizes that immigration is key to meet labour market needs in critical sectors like healthcare and agriculture, and to help develop and diversify Canadian communities.

And with this focus, Francophone immigration, both within and outside of Quebec, remains a top priority for the Government of Canada.

In Quebec

The Government of Canada continues to work with the Government of Quebec to support their efforts to use immigration to address labour market needs, particularly as we recover from the economic impact of COVID-19.

During the pandemic, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada prioritized applications from candidates already in Canada, including those under the Quebec Skilled Workers category.

The Department continues to work with Quebec on innovative ways to use immigration to address the province’s labour shortages, while also supporting the French language and Quebec’s distinct Francophone identity.

Outside Quebec

Of course, the French language is deeply rooted in communities across Canada, not just in Quebec. The Government recognizes that immigration plays an important role in supporting the vitality of Francophone minority communities throughout the country.

In 2019, my Department announced a comprehensive Francophone Immigration strategy, which included a target of achieving 4.4% of Permanent Resident admissions from French-speaking applicants by 2023.

We first established this target in 2003 after consulting with key Francophone stakeholders, like la Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada.

And we recognized that it would take some time to achieve.

Since we launched the Strategy, it has yielded positive results. In 2020, French-speaking admissions represented 3.6% of all immigrants admitted to Canada outside of Quebec, up from 2.8% the previous year.

Yes, in 2021, we experienced a decline to 2% of admissions, due largely to the global pandemic. But the Department is making substantial efforts to return to our pre-pandemic admission rates.

For example, we are awarding additional points to French-speaking and bilingual candidates in our Express Entry pool.

Also, given the pandemic’s impact on international travel, last year we introduced a new pathway to permanent residence for temporary workers and international graduates already in Canada. This included three additional streams for French-speaking or bilingual newcomers and as of late January, there were more than 6,400 applications included in these streams.

We are also pursuing year-round targeted promotional activities in Canada and abroad, including initiatives to attract more French-speaking immigrants to health-related occupations, and also to work as French language and immersion teachers.

Finally, we continue to work with provinces and territories on our shared goals to support the attraction, settlement and retention of French-speaking newcomers.

Complementing all of these efforts, IRCC is working to support the Government’s commitment to modernize the Official Languages Act.

The bill introduced by my colleague, Minister Petitpas Taylor, recognizes the importance of immigration and proposes a policy on Francophone immigration with clear objectives and indicators.

Settlement

Immigration is more than numbers; there is a considerable amount of settlement work to be done with – and for – newcomers.

In 2019-2020, IRCC implemented the Francophone Integration Pathway, which offers tailored support to French-speaking newcomers from pre-arrival to citizenship. This approach aims to strengthen the resettlement and settlement services offered “by and for” Francophone organizations.

It ensures that newcomers, of all linguistic backgrounds, are aware of these services offered throughout their settlement and integration process. Nearly 80 Francophone service providers across the country, outside of Quebec, are funded by IRCC.

The Government will continue its efforts to build up the Francophone Integration Pathway, so that French-speaking newcomers are adequately informed of the possibilities of settling in French in Canada and receive quality settlement services by Francophone organizations.

Language training is an integral and important part of the Francophone Integration Pathway.

So, we continue working with the Francophone communities to give all newcomers an opportunity to settle and thrive in French and to make a positive contribution to Canadian society.

Students

Francophone international students are another key source of talent to help support Canada’s future economic growth and counteract the country’s aging demographic and shrinking labour markets.

International students come here from all over the world. Canada is an attractive place to study for Francophone students from northern Africa, Europe and elsewhere.

We are aware of concerns raised that racial bias has affected the impartiality of decision-making around study permits, and have put in place numerous initiatives to uncover and mitigate potential bias.

These include:

• a Service Delivery Anti-Racism Working Group to train and support decision makers’ understanding of procedural fairness and impartiality;
• an expanded overseas Quality Assurance program to conduct annual reviews of application refusals; and
• an initiative to map available race-related client data to identify possible bias, systemic racism or other barriers.

I want to assure members of the Committee that the Government is committed to an equitable application of immigration procedures for all applicants in all of our programs.

Conclusion

To conclude, Chair, Francophone and bilingual newcomers are essential to our future.

Significant efforts are made every year in Francophone countries to promote and attract Francophone students and immigrants to Canada, and those efforts will continue.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My colleagues and I would be pleased to answer the Committee’s questions.