Thank you.
Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee.
The Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne, or ACUFC, represents 22 francophone or bilingual post‑secondary institutions located in eight provinces. Our international activities are carried out in three phases, including marketing positioning, supporting the recruitment of international clients, and reaching out to federal institutions with international mandates to promote the reality of our network of institutions.
In a statement, on December 1, 2021, we indicated that ACUFC member institutions were experiencing the same difficulties as Quebec institutions in getting French‑speaking international students who had been confirmed for admission to Canada. Moreover, this situation has been documented within our network for a long time. For example, some institutions began receiving financial support from the federal government for international recruitment after 2006. However, they were quickly confronted with the problem we are discussing today. Many of the students they recruited during these events and who were given offers of admission were denied their study permits.
Institutions don't always know why their offers of admission don't materialize into registrations, unless those who have been turned down let them know, which of course not all of them do. Other avenues will have to be explored to compile this data, but the partial picture we are starting to paint is telling.
I'll give you the example of the undergraduate programs in the last five years of one of our institutions. Of all the applications for which an offer of admission was made, 77% of the applications from African countries did not translate into registrations, while the proportion fell to 39% for students from other countries. In short, African applications do not translate into registrations twice as often as those of students from other countries. The reason why the rate of conversion of offers into registrations is so low for African countries is because study permits have been refused.
One of the contentious issues in the assessment of files is the possibility of remaining in Canada after graduation. We and our institutions are encouraged by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, to promote the possibility of applying for permanent residence upon graduation, particularly to meet identified labour needs and to support government efforts to meet the francophone immigration target.
Frequently, the reason used for rejecting applications for study permits is that the applicant cannot demonstrate through their file that they intend to leave Canada at the end of their stay. You'll understand that the repeated use of this reason for refusing a study permit isn't at all consistent with the message we're being asked to convey abroad.
However, another element specific to our network of institutions must be added to this situation: its lack of knowledge in the public system. Institutions have told us that applications have been refused because the officer assessing the file didn't consider that wanting to study in French outside Quebec was a legitimate course of action. This is a substantial disadvantage that can have significant consequences for our institutions.
Reputational risks may result from this situation. On the one hand, our member institutions put their own reputations on the line when they recruit internationally, but people who engage in the process and receive admissions are refused entry. On the other hand, a lot of international recruitment is done under the umbrella of the EduCanada brand, which is part of Global Affairs Canada. This brand also carries reputational risks when people who see it as a sign of trust are disappointed and have to rethink their education plans.
Our analyses show that despite long‑standing government policies and inquiry, francophone candidates wishing to study in French in Canada and post‑secondary institutions in a minority francophone context [Technical difficulty—Editor]. Only political and administrative intervention will solve this problem.
That's why we recommend that the Privy Council Office, together with Global Affairs Canada, IRCC and other relevant departments, work to implement a coherent and systemic approach to ensure substantive equality in the Canadian government's handling of applications from international students wishing to study in French at post‑secondary institutions in francophone minority settings.
If the committee wishes, we would be happy to present some of the avenues to be considered in defining this approach.
Thank you.