Immigration to Francophone Minority Communities
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE
CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CANADA – FRANCOPHONE MINORITY COMMUNITIES
STEERING COMMITTEE
June 20 and 21, 2005
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Ottawa, Ontario
Present:
Co-chairs:
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC): Daniel Jean
Francophone Minority Communities: Marc C. Arnal
CIC representatives:
Michel Dupuis, Deputy Director, Selection
Renald Dussault, Director General, Selection
Pierre Gaulin, Director, Ontario Region
Robert Godfrey, British Columbia and Yukon Region
Louise Gravel, Director General, Human Resources
David Manicom, Director, International Region
Robert Orr, Director General Refugee Branch
Rob Vineberg, Director General, Prairies and Northern Territories Region
Jane Veneranda, Analyst, Selection
Jean Séguin, Government Side, Director, Special Initiatives and Outreach, Integration Branch, CIC
Partners:
Daniel Cadieux, Analyst, Canadian Heritage
Gérard Clément, Assistant Deputy Minister, Province of Manitoba
Annie Dell, Regional Director, Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité
Lyne Deschênes, Program Officer, Health Canada
Nathalie Dubois, National Coordinator of Francophone Intergovernmental Affairs
Alison Dudley, British-Columbia
Édith Dussault, Director, Multiculturalism and Human Rights, Canadian Heritage
Keith Fernandez, Director General, Western Economic Diversification
Marie-Lison Fougère, Assistant Deputy Minister, Office of Francophone Affairs, Ontario
George Itoafa, Project Officer, New Brunswick
Lyne Labrèche, Privy Council Office
Isabelle Landry, Project Officer, Human Resources and Skills Development
Louise Trahan, Director, Interdepartmental Co-ordination, Canadian Heritage
Monique Tremblay, Chief, Official Language Minority Communities Policy, (HRSDC)
Tony Varatojo, Program Consultant, Ontario
Community representatives:
Igor Cesar, Alberta
Renée Champagne, Ontario
Michel Chartier, Manitoba
Keith Coughland, Nova Scotia
Zaïn Essenghaier, Prince Edward Island
Maxim Jean-Louis, Ontario
Jean Johnson, Alberta
Ronald Labrecque replacing Marie-France Kenny, Saskatchewan
Lise Ouellette, New Brunswick
Michelle Rakotonaivo, British Columbia
Léonie Tchatat, Ontario
Observers:
Diane Allard, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages
Secretariat/Organization:
Diane Côté, Community Side, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada
Roukya Abdi Aden, Community Side, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada
Denise Legault, Government Side, Senior Advisor, Policy and Programs, Special Initiatives and Outreach, Integration Branch, CIC
Suzanne Riberdy, Government Side, Program Specialist, Integration Branch, CIC
Facilitator:
Ronald Bisson, Consultant
1. Welcoming remarks by the co-chairs
Daniel Jean, Co-chair for the Government Side, welcomed all the Steering Committee members and highlighted the contribution of Diane Vincent, who co-chaired the 2003 Steering Committee until just recently. He also welcomed Marie-Lison Fougère, Assistant Deputy Minister, Office of Francophone Affairs in Ontario; and Édith Dussault, Director of Multiculturalism and Human Rights at Canadian Heritage.
Daniel Jean then gave the floor to Marc Arnal, Co-chair for the Community Side . He also welcomed all the Steering Committee members.
Marc Arnal described the highlights of Daniel Jean’s career.
Marc Arnal pointed out the presence of Jean Johnson, who is replacing Luketa M’Pindou as the community representative for Alberta. He thanked Luketa for his contribution to the National Steering Committee and the Alberta Committee.
2. Round table of the participants
Daniel Jean asked the Steering Committee members to introduce themselves.
3. Adoption of the agenda
Proposed by Maxim Jean-Louis.
Seconded by Pierre Gaulin.
The agenda was unanimously adopted.
4. Adoption of the minutes of the meeting held on March 29 and 30, 2005
The following corrections were proposed:
Page 4: Add du Canada to Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité (RDÉE ) and correct the name of the community representative for Saskatchewan to Marie-France Kenny.
Proposed by Jean Séguin.
Seconded by Louise Trahan.
The minutes of the meeting held on March 29 and 30, 2005 were unanimously adopted with the proposed changes.
5. Update for each region
British Columbia
The members informed the Committee that the provincial public service employee awareness campaign continues. They pointed out that two Anglophone organizations have been contracted to provide settlement services. Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia will offer the Host and Settlement Program in both official languages.
The province is still discussing with the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique (FFCB), the representative organization for the community, the possibility of offering more information sessions on the Provincial Nominee Program. A workshop on the identity of the Francophone community was held in Vancouver on June 11 2005. The workshop was very successful, and more than 150 people attended.
The community representative indicated that a certain degree of openness still exists, although the Francophone situation is not a priority for the province. She emphasized the importance of ensuring community coordination of the file in British Columbia.
Prairies Region
Manitoba
The representatives informed the Committee that the community and the national, provincial and municipal governments are still cooperating. A research project was signed with the Société franco-manitobaine (SFM), the representative organization for the community. The objective of this research project is to develop housing strategies in order to encourage immigrants to settle in Francophone communities.
A joint committee was established with the Manitoba and the Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (CDEM) and several departments in order to recruit more entrepreneurs who are interested in settling in the Francophone community. Six French-speaking families were targeted this year.
Saskatchewan
The members reported on several initiatives, including the following:
- A cooperation agreement was signed with the Institut français de Regina to develop a community/university strategy in order to recruit more foreign students.
- The Internet site is now on-line: http://www.francosaskatoon.ca/
- Following the promotional tours in France and Belgium, a few cooperation agreements are on the verge of being finalized, such as the cooperation agreements with Espace emploi international, European Employment Services (European Union), and Service des échanges et des stages agricoles dans le monde (organization in France).
- A study identified 12 determinants for successful immigration and tested them in several communities. Workshops for each of the 12 determinants are being developed in order to assist communities in each of these areas.
The members informed the Committee that job shadowing is one of the biggest challenges they are facing.
Alberta
The members informed the Committee that the funding for the reception centres in Edmonton and Calgary has been renewed. The members pointed out that the services offered by the reception centres are often superior to those offered by immigration personnel and that they must take into account newcomers resulting from interprovincial mobility.
The members noted the creation of a strategic committee. This committee will be more representative of the regional entities and will be charged with implementing the two-year provincial action plan.
Ontario Region
The members informed the Committee that the Ontario steering subcommittee is continuing its work. The members are pleased that Marie-Lison Fougère has participated in this meeting of the Committee. Ms. Fougère has committed to fostering dialogue between departments in order clarify the priorities.
The members noted that project funding still presents a considerable challenge. It was proposed that a common fund be created to finance projects. The Ontario subcommittee will discuss this idea further during its upcoming meetings.
The members informed the Committee that interesting partnerships were formed during the year. The Office of Francophone Affairs in Ontario and Canadian Heritage Ontario will fund the project to improve the content of the French component of the settlement.org Web site.
The community representatives have made extensive efforts in increasing awareness. In particular, they met with Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Francophone Affairs, and a representative of the office of the minister of immigration. The objective was to update them on the Francophone immigration file and give them two key messages: 1) that community participation is essential to the provincial process for finalizing a federal-provincial agreement and 2) that including a language clause in the agreement is vital.
The community members stated that the meetings were encouraging, but concluded that the communities would like to see the actions identified in the action plans and consultation sessions materialize.
Atlantic Region
New Brunswick
The members informed the committee that the steps for the relaxation of the Provincial Nominee Program are under way, particularly the possibility of adding the “community sponsorship” category to the provincial nominee program.
They indicated that the Carrefour d’immigration rurale has begun operation, that the funding for the round table had not been renewed, and that efforts are now being refocused in New Brunswick.
Nova Scotia
The members informed the Committee that, since the creation of the Immigration Department and as a result of the publication of the provincial action plan, the community has met several times to determine how it can make a place for itself within the objectives of the provincial immigration plan. They indicated that the Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse (FANE), the representative organization for the community, was holding a meeting that same day with different community stakeholders in order to discuss a possible follow-up to the provincial action plan.
In cooperation with the provincial board of education, four Lebanese teachers were hired because the Halifax region has a very large Lebanese community. The members considered this a significant step in the right direction.
Prince Edward Island
The members informed the Committee that the Francophone immigration file is off to a good start. The community received a family of refugees from Burundi and rallied together in a remarkable way to support them for two years. However, despite the community’s extraordinary effort, the family moved to Montréal. The members drew attention to the importance of having a critical mass of immigrants in a region to promote retention.
6. Presentations
Daniel Jean invited Michel Dupuis to give a presentation on the selection process.
Michel Dupuis presented the history of immigration in Canada. He pointed out that, since the mid-90s, the number of applications has surpassed the set targets . As a result, promotional and recruitment activities have been scaled back and are now focused on a specific clientele. Inventories abroad are substantial, and processing times for finalizing skilled worker applications are relatively long. Visa offices must process a number of types of cases as a priority, including refugees, spouses and children, provincial nominees, Quebec cases and investors.
He explained that, in 2002, 60% of immigrants to Canada went to Toronto or Vancouver and the majority of the 10% who claimed to have a knowledge of French settled in Quebec. In Toronto, 2% of immigrants have a knowledge of French; in Vancouver, 1.7%.
Marc Arnal invited Édith Dussault, Director, Multiculturalism and Human Rights, to give a presentation on Canadian Heritage’s multiculturalism programs.
Édith Dussault asserted that Canada is one of the most diverse countries in the world and that Canadian diversity is evolving rapidly. She presented Canada’s legislative framework for diversity. She informed the members of the multiculturalism program and of its related opportunities and challenges. She introduced the multiculturalism program’s various sectors of activity, as well as the projects eligible for the multiculturalism grant and contributions program.
Daniel Jean invited Jean Séguin to give a presentation on CIC’s settlement programs, specifically, on the new Enhanced Language Training (ELT) program.
Jean Séguin gave an overview of labour market integration programs. He said that, for two years, a committee made up of 14 federal departments has met monthly to help coordinate their efforts and to foster the labour market integration of immigrants and Canadians who have received training abroad.
He emphasized that recognizing skills and credentials is a key element in integrating immigrants trained abroad and that that is the responsibility of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
Another key element to the successful labour market integration of immigrants trained abroad is a solid knowledge of the language. He noted that immigrants’ language skills often do not meet the linguistic needs of the labour market.
CIC received $20 million to better deal with that problem and to implement an ELT program. One of the criteria for that program is 50/50 joint financing from the federal government and the other partners. According to Jean Séguin, that type of financing is difficult to secure.
However, in recent months, CIC has signed a number of contribution agreements with British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario, and is currently negotiating with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. He spoke about the importance of working with the provinces, given that employment and training are under their jurisdiction, as well as of supporting the provincial and federal programs in order to improve cooperation and to ensure tangible successes in all areas.
He confirmed that the Web portal concept is still in development. He emphasized the need to inform immigrants before their arrival. He mentioned that the labour market integration section would be made more prominent in the portal so that potential immigrants could be better prepared before coming to Canada.
Because the portal concept is geared mainly toward the economic immigrant population, and because new data collected for the strategic plan indicate that 70% to 80% cent of Francophone immigrants belong to the refugee class, a new approach will need to be adopted.
Studies from the past two years show that more than 50% of potential immigrants go to family or friends for information before coming to Canada. Therefore, those two groups need to be trained so that they can provide the proper information.
In conclusion, he stated that a number of labour market integration initiatives for immigrants are under way but that those initiatives must take the Francophone population into account.
The members are aware of the scope and significance of the new initiatives, but they stress that labour market integration is just as challenging for immigrants educated in Canada as for those trained abroad. They emphasized that this problem must continue to be addressed.
7. Work session
See the report from Ronald Bisson & Associés Inc. in annex.
8. Closing remarks
The Co-chairs thanked the Committee members for their work and input.
The meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
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