Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to make the same heartfelt plea to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration regarding the urgent need to do something about access to services in the regions. In my riding of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the issue is extremely critical. It's important that Service Canada offices be able to respond to immigration-related requests. This is an essential need for the people who come here and for our businesses.
The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration has called on Immigration and Citizenship Canada to address the many barriers faced by applicants from French-speaking Africa. The refusal rates for study permits, which are issued by Ottawa, have soared in Quebec in recent years. The refusal rate for students from Algeria, the Republic of Congo, Togo, Senegal and Cameroon is as high as 80% or more.
A number of institutions welcome foreign students. This gives them greater financial flexibility and, in some regions, it ensures their survival. In my riding, over 50% of our students come from abroad.
Why are we seeing this high refusal rate? Could visa officers' decisions be biased? According to the report, IRCC employees have had to deal with problems like this.
What can be done about this, practically? The problem isn't that more time is needed to process applications, it's the high number of refusals.