Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honour for me to be selected to speak on the immigration issue. Thank you very much.
In my presentation, I will focus on the issues that have affected us, my family and me, and the role the school has played in this regard.
We know that immigration is what makes Canada a multicultural country. We also know that many immigrants from the four corners of the world are looking for jobs. However, I would like to draw your attention to the unemployment rate among immigrants. Most of them have a master's degree or a doctorate, like my parents, but they are often forced to redo their studies. Those studies took many years and cost a lot of money. But isn't it true that, in accepting them as immigrants, Canada expects them to make an economic contribution? However, how can they contribute to the economy when they have no jobs? This situation hurts the economy and the family. If the family is hurt, then so are the children, and those children then neglect school, which could help the family.
In another connection, I would like to talk to you about the Franco-Ontarian identity. Openness to other cultures helps eliminate ignorance from our thinking. It helps identify the differences and similarities between our culture and another. It enables us to attach ourselves to it and to recognize that we belong to a community, a whole and a specific group. I think this is how we forge an identity. Consequently, through a school and the programs it offers us, we learn, as Ms. Santana said, French, mostly, or English, and we also visit Canada. However, based on my personal experience, what I found most disheartening when I arrived in Canada was not receiving any programs in English. That really isolated me from other students and I felt separate. Even though French is the majority language of instruction, we know that English dominates in the halls, at the secondary level in particular. So I would ask that there be at least a few English-language programs.
Thank you.