Good morning, everyone. This is a very interesting discussion. And, of course, as soon as you talk about immigration and Francophonie, people become very passionate. I am from Quebec, I am also a Quebecker and I am a pure Francophone.
When I arrived here in Ottawa, the only words I know were: yes, no, toaster. I learned to speak English, and I find now that there is a wonderful complicity between the two languages. I have never felt assimilated.
The fact is that our children are a lot more open to the rest of the world than we were. They have many more opportunities to be so, if only because of the Internet and everything else. I have daughters who speak French, English and Spanish. One of them is learning Italian, but that does not mean she is any less Francophone.
I find this debate very interesting. Often we have a certain idea in our mind. I am sorry, Mr. Castonguay, but I have a bit of a problem with the figures and the statistics. I am having trouble making sense of them. What I see on the ground is something different.
I have two questions. We often talk about Francophones, as opposed to Anglophones. I would like to begin with a question for Ms. Lamarre or Mr. Jedwab, if he would like to answer.
The criteria used to determine who is a Francophone or Anglophone immigrant vary, depending on the government. Everyone knows that.
Could you give us an overview of the various criteria that now apply? What impact do they have on the immigrant communities, your analysis and the results of your research? Are they a success in terms of immigration to OLMCs, or official language minority communities?