I think that we have to encourage employers to participate in job fairs organized by Destination Canada and to make them more aware of the importance or the benefits of having bilingual employees who are able to communicate with francophones. I know, for example, that western companies want to penetrate the Quebec market. However, to do that, they need people who speak French. We can already see that in western Canada francophone immigration has become a considerable asset for official language minority communities. Newcomers account for 30% of francophones in British Columbia, 20% in Alberta, 15% in Ontario and 17% in New Brunswick. In other words, immigration already plays an important role for communities and their institutions. I think this is important, since only 2% of immigrants settling outside Quebec are francophone.
It would really be very important to bring this proportion up to at least 4%, which is the national percentage. There are, however, some differences to consider in this regard. In New Brunswick, for example, where French speakers represent a third of the population, that 4% figure would not be helpful. Any government initiative must recognize the specific needs of the provinces and communities, which are quite distinct.