Evidence of meeting #15 for Official Languages in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was immigrants.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Director, Information, Language and Community Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
The figure of 4.4%, which is our indicator—
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
For 2023... It will be a little late at that point; we may not even be alive.
Director, Information, Language and Community Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
We have 1.8% by 2013.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Yes, I know. Are those your performance indicators? Are they the only ones?
Director, Information, Language and Community Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
It's one: it concerns recruitment.
Director, Information, Language and Community Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
There are some concerning the establishment of community networks.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Would you be prepared to share the performance indicators, or are they included in the plan?
Director, Information, Language and Community Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
They aren't included in the plan because it was done in 2006.
Liberal
Director, Information, Language and Community Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Yes.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Thank you.
My next question is question 2. In 2003, the Standing Committee on Official Languages suggested that the Minister of Immigration consult the anglophone communities to see about establishing a committee equivalent to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada - Francophone Minority Communities Steering Committee. Has that consultation taken place?
Director, Information, Language and Community Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
As regards Quebec anglophones, we are currently doing the research to establish needs.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
You know they would like a committee. Have you consulted them on the subject?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Not to our knowledge, no, but I can get back to you on that point.
Conservative
Bloc
Richard Nadeau Bloc Gatineau, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
In light of Mr. Bélanger's comments, if I understand correctly, the lid is being put on the pot and we have to go through all kinds of schemes to obtain information from our own government. I don't blame you because I know the orders come from above. That's perhaps more an aspect of the government in place than anything else.
However, there are 54 persons sitting on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada - Francophone Minority Communities Steering Committee. That committee is to meet on May 10. I'm looking at the list of people who attended the previous meeting or the one that will be held this week—I recognize some names and not others, but that's life.
Have there previously been any meetings of this committee—do you meet annually? Do you have reports on those meetings showing that things have been accomplished from one year to the next? Could we get those reports?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Yes, of course.
Bloc
Richard Nadeau Bloc Gatineau, QC
Mr. Chairman, I request the reports from all the meetings that have been held, since this committee is relatively recent in the history of humanity.
I would therefore like to get the annual reports in order to determine what the direction was following your discussions with a number of federal government representatives and a few from the community component and the provinces in order to move the file forward.
In addition, there's also the entire recruitment issue. There are 208 countries in the world, but I know there aren't necessarily 208 Canadian embassies. Some embassies serve two or three countries. I've previously gone to Laos through Thailand. To my great stupefaction, the Canadian ambassador there doesn't speak French. I must say I went there especially for the Francophonie. How do you operate?
I'm going to make another side remark. At my constituency office, one-third of citizens files concern immigration. I'm a member for the constituency of Gatineau, for your information. Some embassies don't offer us service in French. We can make every possible effort; we aren't about to make the citizens of my constituency, or at least of my region, wait for answers. Some embassies don't offer services in French. I repeat: some embassies don't offer service in French. This is a showcase for the Canadian Francophonie!
How do you get along with those embassies in the francophone countries, for example the ones serving Laos, Thailand and Burma, to send the message that they have to provide information in French to people who want to immigrate? How do you operate with those embassies that don't offer service in French?
Director, International Education and Youth Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
With regard to the student recruitment or for general services to Canada citizens?
Director, International Education and Youth Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
To my knowledge, all the embassies operate in both official languages.
Bloc
Richard Nadeau Bloc Gatineau, QC
Mr. Greenshields, welcome to Canada: that isn't the case. All right! I simply want you to know that.
Furthermore, I look at the Destination Canada job forum of Canada's embassy in France. It makes me think of Canadian Heritage. When a citizen, an organization or people want services in French from these kinds of departments, other than Canadian Heritage, under section 4 of the Official Languages Act, what do they do? They direct them to Canadian Heritage, whereas the entire Government of Canada should be offering services in French.
Are you telling me that someone who lives in Latin America or South East Asia has to go to the Destination Canada offered by the Canadian embassy in France because there are no other embassies offering the same thing as the embassy in France in French?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Destination Canada is a project that we implemented to conduct targeted recruitment in Europe and North Africa. The idea is to attract, to target francophone immigrants who want to come to Canada.
Bloc
Richard Nadeau Bloc Gatineau, QC
Yes, but the nest is at the embassy in France, which is solely responsible for the project, from what I read in the documents.
Is that correct, Mr. Saint-Germain? Why didn't you establish the program at all embassies?
