Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for being here.
Although I do not personally know your organizations, I know that in my riding there are similar organizations that do wonderful work to help new Quebeckers settle.
That said, under an agreement signed with the federal government, this matter is the Quebec government's responsibility, as it manages settlement funds. I'd like to ask a broader question.
In my opinion, one of the main factors in integration remains employment, above and beyond cultural differences and language. When people find work, they are more quickly integrated within society. When they do not, they stay home and it is much more difficult for them.
I'd like to ask you a question about a Bloc Québécois proposal that you may already have considered. If you have not, I would ask for your opinions on it. The proposal has to do with the idea of establishing the use of anonymous CVs for agencies falling under the federal government's jurisdiction.
I will quickly give you an overview of this proposal and then I would invite all three of you to quickly give us your opinion on it. The problem is that even though people may arrive with all the required skills, it can be difficult for some individuals who have a foreign-sounding name to get an interview for a job in a given company, because a selection is being made. Sometimes, there is a bias which, although not always intentional, means that when employers look at CVs and see a foreign-sounding name, they do not give applicants the opportunity to get to the interview stage and to show what they are worth.
Our proposal is the following. In the hiring process, there is a point when a company's human resource department receives the CVs and hands them to a recruiter. This individual looks at people's skills and decides who to call in for an interview. A study by the Journal de Montréal was eloquent on this point. The same CV, with the same skill set, was sent out but one carried the name Jean Tremblay whereas the other was Ahmad Mohammed. Well, Jean Tremblay was called to several interviews, whereas Ahmad Mohammed was only called to two.
To avoid this happening, we were wondering whether it would be possible, at this stage alone, to have CVs handed in without any identifying information such as a person's name, gender, age, etc. You would only find a person's skill set on the CV. And then, the individual could be called to an interview based on skills alone. The rest of the process, obviously, would no longer be anonymous. Once the person arrives at the interview, you see who they are.
We have held consultations in Quebec. We've received positive responses. It is not a magic bullet, but we believe it could help improve things.
Do you think this type of procedure could help immigrants integrate and that it could help change the mind-set of employers?