Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and members of the parliamentary committee. Thank you for your invitation to appear today to discuss such an important issue for the official language minority communities.
I would just like to share two success stories with you about the labour market integration of Francophone immigrants in the greater Halifax area. These projects were carried out by the Halifax campus of the Université Sainte-Anne. Both were funded through the Canada—Nova Scotia Labour Market Agreement. The Nova Scotia Office of Immigration acted as manager of part of the immigrant-related funding under that agreement.
At the end of my presentation, I will be making a number of recommendations that I believe are important in order for the campus and the community to participate fully in the harmonious integration of Francophone immigrants into the greater Halifax region.
These two projects were made possible through the considerable support provided by the Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse and staff from the Grand-Havre Community Board. I want to express my sincere thanks for the exceptional cooperation that occurred and I hope it will be possible in future to continue this unique partnership with Francophone immigrants.
As I thought about my presentation today, I realized that we have accomplished a great deal in very little time. We have been working in this area for less than three years. I would also like to take this opportunity to point out that all of this was accomplished with one part-time employee and the support of the staff and facilities of the Université Saint-Anne. All the training workshop services were provided by casual employees or volunteers.
Thus far, we have delivered two projects. They included training and work experience for Francophone immigrants. In particular, we presented workshops to facilitate labour market integration, training in communications and the use of computers, internships, and finally, paid workplace experience.
The 2009 pilot project, which lasted 12 weeks and was funded by the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration, for a total of $38,000, allowed us to recruit, train and provide two-week internships to seven participants. The pilot project was intended to determine the feasibility of managing this type of project aimed at Francophone immigrants from our base on the campus, and to establish a basis for partnership with Francophone community partners. The aim of the project was to facilitate the transition to the provincial labour market. Participants had no work experience in Canada. All the participants, except for one, benefited from the training and internships. Of the seven participants, two secured employment following this work experience. Indeed, they are still in those jobs.
As a result of several evaluations of the pilot project, we determined that the project was of inadequate duration and that the two-week internship should be changed in order to better reflect the realities of the provincial labour market. In addition, training in English as a second language appeared to be an essential requirement for most of the project participants.
Upon completion of the pilot project, we submitted a second request for funding to the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration in the summer of 2009 to deliver a similar project that would last longer. That project began in October, 2009. The 25-week project included 10 weeks of workshops and 6 weeks of paid work. We completed the project in late March, 2010, with the allocated budget of $131,628. We achieved the two main outcomes set for the project, which were that immigrants secure relevant work experience or that this experience encourage them to continue their studies with a view with entering the labour market at a later date. Of the nine participants, five now have permanent jobs, three would like to go back to school in September, and one still does not have a job.
We submitted a third request for funding to the Office of Immigration in February, 2010 for a 52-week project with a budget of $328,457. That amount will allow us to provide training and work experience throughout fiscal year 2010-2011. Three elements in particular distinguish it from previous proposals: the project is intended to last as much as 52 weeks, paid work experience will last between six and 16 weeks, and twenty weeks of training in English as a second language on campus is also included. We will be using the program funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada though its Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada program, or LINC. We are currently in discussions with the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration, and hope to sign an agreement soon.
As a follow-up to this limited experience with Francophone immigrants, and as a means of pursuing the harmonious integration of these immigrants into our minority community, we are making the following recommendations.
Authorities responsible for enforcing the Official Languages Act must continue to rigourously monitor the services provided to minority Francophone communities, including services that have been devolved to the provinces.
Services aimed at integrating Francophone immigrants into our region, including services and training in English as a second language, must be offered on a priority basis by Francophone organizations. It is critical to involve the Francophone community, in order to facilitate the social, cultural and economic integration of these immigrants into our minority community.
Appropriate and multi-year funding must be available. It must take into consideration our realities as official language minority communities as regards achievement of project outcomes.
Integration services aimed at Francophone immigrants, including labour market integration services, must be available throughout the year.
Thank you, and I am now available to take your questions.