Official Languages Committee on May 9th, 2023

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Okay.

Mr. Desruisseaux, if you had a magic wand, if you were a magician who had to choose proactive and effective measures to implement quickly in terms of francophone immigration, what would you suggest to the committee?

You've made us think things are going well. You told us that what you were doing was quite good. Yes, it's probably good, but we on the committee want to do more, faster.

What advice would you give the committee?

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

You have 40 seconds.

[Alain Desruisseaux]

Do I only have 40 seconds?

We absolutely have to promote promotion. Promotion is the starting point. In our opinion, if we want our measures to be far-reaching, it's important to increase the number of admissions.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

How can we do that?

[Alain Desruisseaux]

If we want to increase our pool of francophones, we must promote Canada as a destination of choice. We must first have applicants, and then go out and find candidates.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

I should have asked the question earlier, because now I have other questions. Thank you, Mr. Desruisseaux.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

You still have 10 seconds, Mr. Godin.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Okay.

Mr. Desruisseaux, if you had to take just one measure to get immediate results with African countries, which represent a large pool of francophones, what would it be?

[Alain Desruisseaux]

I would like to turn to my colleague, Mr. Jacques.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

It's too late now, but it's an excellent question, and we'll come back to it later.

Ms. Kayabaga, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would also like to thank the witnesses who are with us today, and I'm interested in the answer that Mr. Jacques was going to give to my colleague Mr. Godin.

[Olivier Jacques]

If I had one measure to suggest to promote Canada on the African continent and to increase the number of francophone candidates interested in immigrating to Canada, outside Quebec, it would be an advertising campaign for people who are considering immigrating abroad, outside Africa.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Thank you for the answer, which allows me to make the connection with my next question.

Several people on this committee have talked about systemic barriers. We know that 60% of francophones are in Africa. However, when we look at the figures on the admission rate of francophones from West Africa, that is, from Black francophone Africa, we realize that they are very low.

You understand that these rates must be taken into account when determining the number of visas to be granted to students wishing to come and study in Canada. How can you manage this so that we continue to attract talent to Canada?

[Olivier Jacques]

First of all, I would like to mention that West Africa is one of the main pools of francophone candidates for immigration. One of our biggest sources is Cameroon. Then there are the North African countries, France, of course, as well as the Ivory Coast.

Then, in terms of the acceptance rate of study permits for francophone students from Africa, who aren't immigrants as such, but students, it's generally lower than elsewhere.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

I'm sorry, but my time is limited, so I want to move on to the next question.

Can you tell us a little bit about the resources that the department already has to strengthen all of these measures? What are you missing to be able to do that?

[Olivier Jacques]

The department has added two immigration offices on the African continent, in Addis Ababa and—

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Are two offices enough, or do you need more?

[Olivier Jacques]

That's one of the measures.

Also, since 2018, 67 new positions have been created in immigration offices located on the African continent.

Finally, our network is integrated: when the resources in our offices on the African continent are insufficient to ensure the processing of applications, we can count on a helping hand from immigration offices elsewhere in the network or in Canada. This allows us to ensure more equitable processing times.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Since the creation of these two offices, have you seen a change in the numbers, which are very low?

[Olivier Jacques]

If we talk about study permit applications, the acceptance rate—

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

No. I'm talking about the acceptance rate for francophone students from West Africa. The numbers are low. Since you've taken steps to address this issue, do you think the situation has improved? Do you have any data that can confirm that this is the case?

[Olivier Jacques]

I have data on the acceptance rate of study permits granted to French-speaking Africans in general, but not only from West Africa. In 2021, the acceptance rate was 27%, while in 2022, it rose to 35%. So there has been an increase in the number of French-speaking African students.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Is this data detailed by region or by country? Could you send that data to the clerk?

[Olivier Jacques]

Yes, absolutely.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

You still have one minute and forty seconds