OLLO – Summary Report - Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages – February 6, 2023

Date and time: May 2, 2022 / 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Videoconference (hybrid and in-person and zoom)

Report prepared by:
Mélodie Terracol, Cabinet and Parliamentary Affairs
Canadian Heritage
melodie.terracol@pch.gc.ca

Committee Members:

René Cormier (ISG) (Chair)
Bernadette Clement (ISG)
Marie-Françoise Mégie (ISG)
Lucie Moncion (ISG)
Percy Mockler (C)
Rose-May Poirier (C)
Jean-Guy Dagenais (CSG)
Pierre J. Dalphond (PSG)
Raymonde Gagné (Non-affiliated)

Subject:

Study matters relating to Francophone immigration to minority communities

Witnesses

Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada

• Liane Roy, President
• Alain Dupuis, Executive Director

Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité

• Roukya Abdi Aden, Manager, National Consultation on Economic Development and Employability

Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie

• Martin Normand, Director, Strategic Research and International Relations

Summary

Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada

Liane Roy, President

Alain Dupuis, Executive Director

• The impacts of the unmet target are tangible: the demographic weight of the Francophone and Acadian communities declined and, if the trend continues, the numbers will continue to decline.
• Asked the government to adopt a target of 12%, rising to 20% in 2036. Figures are from a study conducted by the organization.
• Proposed a progressive model to restore the demographic weight.
• Measures proposed to IRCC:
  • A Francophone immigration policy that includes specific programs and measures for specific realities
  • Increased funding
  • Create a distinct economic program for immigration outside Quebec.
  • Create specific Francophone components for family class sponsorship, refugees and provincial nominee programs.
  • Lift eligibility criteria and substantially increase capacity to process visa and immigration applications in African countries.
  • Permanent pathway

Raymonde Gagné (Non-affiliated)

• What was the provinces’ contribution in terms of Francophone minority immigration? Is there a particular problem with the provincial nominee program?
  • All the provinces are very interested in Francophone immigration. Some provinces and territories have set targets. Only Ontario has exceeded its target. Immigration must be viewed as a whole.

Marie-Françoise Mégie (ISG)

• Chinook system that refuses students from North Africa. Have you noticed any attempts to address this problem in the past three months?
  • There is no artificial intelligence involved in the system. According to the Minister of IRCC, there is no problem with the system, but in our opinion, there is a problem with the criteria.
• Credential recognition. Would you have time to look into it, or do you have partners who might have ideas about best practices by comparing provinces and territories?
  • Yes, it is a complex issue. We have some partners who have conducted pilot projects.

Jean-Guy Dagenais (CSG)

• What is preventing action, and what is keeping the target from being met?
  • It is because we are trying to implement the same programs for Francophones and Anglophones. If we really want to meet our targets, we must have specific programs for Francophones and for Acadian Francophone communities.
• How capable is the French-language education system in the provinces today of stimulating immigrant children to pursue their education in French?
  • Several provinces have put francization and reception programs in place in their education system. But an action plan with predictable targets from year to year is needed.

Lucie Moncion (ISG)

• What is Ontario’s success compared to other provinces attributed to?
  • They implemented a specific program for Francophone and bilingual workers that enable the province to exceed its nomination certificates for the Francophonie.
• As for the other provinces, can you talk about the distribution of people who go across Canada?
  • Ontario is the province that has taken in the largest number of French-speaking immigrants over the last five years. Next are New Brunswick, Alberta and British Columbia.
• Why do some communities receive funds for these programs while others do not?

Bernadette Clement (ISG)

• What is the number of people not welcomed in Canada because targets are systematically missed?
  • 76,000 people. That is a lot.
• What obstacles have there been in the partnership between the federal government, the provinces and the communities?
  • We must ensure that the Francophone immigration policy in C-13 is well understood and that it is a holistic policy.

René Cormier (ISG)

• Can you tell us how the possibility of a new IRCC office would improve and help initiatives that communities can undertake and how the partnership could best be established?
• Should the objectives and targets be included in the policy in Bill C-13? What should appear in the legislation itself?
  • We think that for the content of the bill, it is important to see how it is set forth and how it is described. Instead of seeing the verb “contributing,” we would like to see the verb “restoring” and “increasing” in terms of demographic weight. The part about restoring and increasing demographic weight.
• Different category of immigrants. Is a strategic identification or prioritization exercise conducted based on regions and needs?
  • We have many statistics that show that Francophones arrive primarily through economic programs, but it is very important to have a Francophone immigration policy that embraces all categories, particularly given the importance of economic immigrants.

Raymonde Gagné (Non-affiliated)

• The remedial nature of the legislation is recognized. Do you think this is a fairly good framework for the positive measures to be adopted to enhance the vitality and support the development communities?
  • Yes, but the provision on Francophone immigration refers to maintaining or increasing. Maintaining is not remedial.

René Cormier (ISG)

• Ukrainian refugees in New Brunswick. Is it possible to include in our Francophone immigration strategies the idea of identifying people who come to our country and do not speak English or French, but who could integrate into Francophone communities?
  • Ukraine is a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie as an observer country. So, we need to be able to explain or demonstrate to immigrants that they can choose to learn English or French.

Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité

Roukya Abdi Aden, Manager, National Consultation on Economic Development and Employability

• 100% of population growth in Canada will be from immigration in the coming years.
• Labour needs and shortages in almost all sectors of the economy, including education, early childhood and health
• Challenges related to recruiting and selecting immigrants in general, as well as Francophone immigrants:
  • The country’s actual labour needs and the profiles of selected applicants do not match
  • Difficult for Canadian employers to navigate through the immigration system
• Priority actions:
  • Increase and stabilize the Francophone immigration target as proposed by the FCFA
  • Provide economic stability and support entrepreneurship for Francophone immigrants
  • Regionalization of immigration to counter geographic asymmetries for Francophone immigrants in minority communities

Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie

Martin Normand, Director, Strategic Research and International Relations

• Our action is focused on three main areas: positioning our network of institutions in various markets and with potential partners; involvement in recruitment activities; and raising awareness among federal institutions.
• Three major challenges:
  • A very high rejection rate for study permits for international Francophone students, especially those from African countries. Reason for rejection: the intention to leave Canada following graduation
  • Systemic barriers and services for an international clientele to support international students on their educational path
  • Significant pool of potential permanent resident applicants that could help meet the Francophone immigration target
• Two recommendations:
  • The departments must work together to implement a consistent and systemic approach to ensure genuinely equal treatment of applications from international students who want to study in French at postsecondary institutions in a Francophone minority community.
  • A federal government-wide Francophone immigration policy, as set out in Bill C‑13, to address issues that affect the path of international students attending postsecondary institutions in Francophone minority communities.

Jean-Guy Dagenais (CSG)

• What could educational institutions do to facilitate and, above all, speed up their integration into the labour market in their areas of expertise?
  • Create requalification programs, micro-certifications and complementary programs. And raise awareness abroad about our network of institutions to create a larger pool.
• Do you have any figures on the number of Francophone immigrant children studying at colleges and universities in French? Is it higher or lower than the number for local Francophone children? Have you followed up on the number of jobs available in their diploma and degree areas?
  • I do not have those figures. Additional analysis and comparisons would be needed.

Marie-Françoise Mégie (ISG)

• How do you explain the discrepancy between the overqualified immigrants we select and the real labour needs of our society?
  • Problem with the immigration system, which assigns a lot more points for degrees and diplomas than for work experience.
• Is there someone or an organization that can fix that?
  • Professional associations need to do something.
• Were you consulted on the Francophone immigration corridor that was designed to support the training and recruitment of Francophone and French-language teachers, as proposed in the official languages reform document?
  • We were not consulted, but we are interested in taking part in implementation initiatives.

Lucie Moncion (ISG)

• Interprovincial credential recognition. Do you have any comments?
  • Major problems related to mobility and professional associations.
• Targeted recruitment. How is it promoted, whether to universities or in terms of economic development?
  • Businesses need more funds for promotion and help from the government.
  • Rejection rates for study permit applications are too high, so some companies stop recruiting in certain African countries.

Bernadette Clement (ISG)

• Is there systemic racism within these professional associations? Can you explain more about immigrant entrepreneurship?
  • Two years ago, we started organizing what we call immigrant entrepreneurship competitions.
• Have any formal complaints been filed about the rejection of applications from African countries?
• Is there no communication network surrounding this process? IRCC
  • No.

René Cormier (ISG)

• What factors would contribute to better integration and support?
  • Need for a whole-of-government Francophone immigration policy.
  • Having a cultural integration component is essential.
• Are bilateral agreements between our respective countries one of the factors that leads IRCC to refuse study permits?
  • The issue is one of dual intent.

Lucie Moncion (ISG)

• What are you doing to help these people stay in Canada?
  • Our institutions provide support services for students who are completing an application, but some of that work is done outside our institutions.
• Is there a link between these recruitment programs and IRCC that would make it possible to obtain information about graduates so IRCC can use the information to help people who apply for permanent residence, or are they parallel processes?
  • They are systems that operate in parallel.

René Cormier (ISG)

• Can you tell us how a Francophone immigration policy, how the federal government, through that policy, can help you improve the initiatives that you have put in place? Could you tell us briefly about that initiative, if it is successful and how a policy could help you improve the performance of what you are doing?
  • The policy can help do things differently.