Good morning and thank you for inviting us to make a short presentation. I am going to set aside my written brief so that we can have a frank discussion. As I was “surfing” over what the Commissioner of Official Languages said last week, I thought to myself that it may be time here in Canada for official languages to cease being a burden and start being considered a fundamental value. I have to say I'm very proud of what the Commissioner said, because he is starting to speak the same language as the communities.
We find ourselves constantly wondering why it is still suspect to aspire to achieve our full growth and development, and how that can still represent a threat to this country. That is the question we ask ourselves. We love this country, but sometimes we would like this country to like us more and like us better, and provide us with the necessary means. As things now stand, we are given enough to “keep our mouths shut”, but we are not given enough to reach the heights we are aiming for. And this is where Francophone immigration comes in. It has become kind of a trend, but it has to be more than that. It also has to translate into concrete facts.
I would like to introduce Anne-Lise Blin, who is originally from France and was hired two or three weeks ago as the Provincial Francophone Immigration Coordinator. Of course, New Brunswick received $10 million in 2008, but we still don't know whether this is what Mr. Harper has given Bernard Lord to co-chair his election campaign or whether it is the result of brilliant negotiations with Mr. Harper on the part of the Graham government. But we really could not care less. What we do not care about, however, is the fact that it took two years for them to agree on how to invest it. The money was only released this year, through the federal government, its spokesperson and ACOA. Why ACOA is involved, I do not know. The provincial spokesperson on how the funds are to be used is the New Brunswick Population Growth Secretariat.
The most important thing is for this to be delivered, except that this agreement will end in 2013 and, given the problems involved in negotiations, we would like to see them begin now to negotiate renewal of the agreement in 2013. That way, perhaps there won't be an interruption in our activities in 2013 when we are already hard at work.
I myself married an immigrant, a woman from France, to whom I was married for 38 years; unfortunately, she died on March 8. I believe she was a role model when it comes to integration. In the case of Anne-Lise, who is also a French immigrant, her parents had been invited to emigrate to Canada. However, it is the daughter that actually came, and she herself will be giving birth in July to a little Acadian boy or girl.
In fact, the best way for us, Acadians from New Brunswick, to be Canadian is to be fully Acadian; that is our original way of enriching the country. That is why we also are anxious to receive and integrate as many immigrants as possible. Unfortunately, here as elsewhere, we are no longer producing enough babies and thus we need to take in Francophone immigrants—Francophones yes, but not only Francophones. I believe there are some success stories in Quebec where Chileans, Colombians and Latin Americans are seen to be the immigrants that are most easily integrated into Francophone communities. That is why we are trying to recruit immigrants from the Latino community in New Brunswick. I know there is a young Colombian working at the Edmundston campus of the Université of Moncton. He is very well integrated in the community. I believe his name is Pablo, or something similar.
Even our African friends are coming to us. We like them so much that we no longer call them “Africans”; now we call them “Africadians”. That expression is a reflection of integration. Let's stop talking and start acting. That will also help to improve Canada's image. There has to be more celebration and better recognition of the place of Francophones in Canada.
That is what concerns me most. It seems to me that if it is truly a fundamental part of our Canadian identity, we're going to have to work a little harder to help it grow. I will actually be attending a work session that Mauril Bélanger is organizing next Monday on behalf of the Liberal Party, as I understand it. We are prepared to meet with the Conservative Party, the NDP and even the Rhinoceros Party, if need be, to make people understand that Acadians want to contribute to this country. The days when Acadians were content to ask for things are over now. We have become contributors.
We have now achieved a level of education which has created a desire—and the necessary confidence—to bring more and more immigrants into our communities. Indeed, as is the case elsewhere in Canada—and I presume that you have heard this often enough since you've been holding hearings—there is the issue of foreign credential recognition. What is this nonsense? At least Quebec has signed an agreement with France for physicians, so that a French physician can now emigrate to that province and begin to practice medicine almost the day after he arrives. We now have a school of medicine in New Brunswick, where doctors are trained through the University of Sherbrooke, so why could we not be more proactive in situations like that?
There is a shortage of 200 truckers in New Brunswick, and I can't believe that in France… There are 100,000 unemployed North Africans in Belgium, and I can't believe that we couldn't find 200 truck drivers among them. Sometimes I wonder how it is that some people are rejected by the system. We have certain needs, and it seems to me that there are enough people out there to make a world and a country like Canada. That's why we want to be more proactive. The Acadian community in New Brunswick is somewhat allergic to the concept of a minority. We are not a minority; we are equal. Since the Act was passed in 1982, the two communities have been equal. Indeed, we want to be treated as two equal communities, and fortunately, we are behaving more and more in a way that reflects that reality. Of course we are minority communities, but we are no less valuable. As I get a kick out of saying to my members, a small apple is no less an apple than a large apple. And a people small in number is no less a people than one large in number. Furthermore, the people of New Brunswick are inclined to want to welcome newcomers to their communities.
And, of course, there has to be recognition of credentials. I may ask Ms. Blin to talk later about the concept of temporary permits, students and permanent permits. It must also be recognized that, in New Brunswick, we Francophones want to bring people in, not to make them part of our minority, but to integrate them into a community that is expanding. We are also recommending that the committee pay close attention to how the first $10 million the federal government so kindly provided to New Brunswick is being used. We know that the work will not be completed in the next three years. While it's a long process, at this point, we should be thinking of renewal of the multi-year plan.
Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, perhaps because of our own originality in New Brunswick, we are just as anxious to work with the 200 million Francophones around the world as with people of Latin American origin, whom we mustn't forget. In these countries, 40% and 50% of the population is under the age of 20. Do you not think they will be looking for work somewhere, at some point, and do you not agree there is extraordinary potential in Latin America, in terms of also increasing our Francophone population? I strongly believe there is.
So, I would like to ask Anne-Lise to make some comments in her capacity as an immigrant to this country, and talk a little bit about temporary permits and students.