Official Languages Committee on Sept. 29th, 2016

[Jean-Guy Bigeau]

The private sector plays a big role in funding because we have direct ties with it in each of our fields of activity.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Do you have statistics of the jobs created?

[Jean-Guy Bigeau]

We have in fact commissioned a study on the network's economic impact that will be released very soon. Then we will have more information on the impact of all our activities in all fields, including tourism, immigration, and business support. Right now, each sector is analyzed separately.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

You do not have any statistics now on the jobs you have created?

[Roukya Abdi-Aden]

As I recall, we have created 900 jobs.

[Jean-Guy Bigeau]

We can send you the information. We also have a study on this that was conducted in 2012.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Can you talk to us about youth and entrepreneurship?

[Jean-Guy Bigeau]

Yes.

We have been working on this since last year. We are in the process of consolidating our base and developing a youth program right across the country, especially from the economic point of view. In particular, we want to help young people start up small businesses and with succession planning. We have seen that this is also an issue. So we are preparing young people to take over businesses.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you, Mr. Bigeau.

We will now move on to Mr. Choquette.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank the witnesses for their presence today.

This morning, we discussed two themes that are fundamental to communities: education and the economy. In the first case, the goal is to ensure that people receive an education and secondly, that they can work and participate in all aspects of their community's life. This is very important. You also spoke briefly about labour issues.

How do you coordinate your approach with the education sector? Do you keep in touch with the sector so as to establish a relationship with young people leaving school and to determine your communities' training needs?

[Jean-Guy Bigeau]

Yes, I talked about that earlier.

We have signed a formal agreement for the recruitment and training of skilled workers in order to meet labour needs in the early childhood sector.

We have business ties with nearly the whole community, including the immigration and tourism sectors and the school system. Our goal is not to become involved in education but rather to focus on infrastructure and job creation. For instance, we work with the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne to ensure that training is provided in all sectors, especially tourism and early childhood. We have this kind of partnership with a number of organizations, including the education sector.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

The Liberal government has talked a lot about investing in infrastructure and transitioning to green energy. As I recall, a bill on this subject passed second reading yesterday. The goal is to calculate the impact of municipalities' infrastructures on climate change, to determine how those impacts can be mitigated, and to make any adjustments necessary.

You said you want francophone communities to continue developing this green economy. As I understand it, they are already developing expertise in this area.

Can you provide any further details and tell us if you have any additional needs in this regard?

[Jean-Guy Bigeau]

We have developed a program that originated in the western provinces, in Manitoba, specifically. It is called Éco-Ouest. We are working with municipalities, especially small ones, to assess the effects on climate. We are trying to promote the implementation of recycling services. We are doing this in a structured way and our services are now in demand.

Actually, several communities and municipalities are now using this service. We are also in the process of developing a national strategy. In this regard, we are seeking additional funding in order to make the program available in every province and territory in Canada. That is just one example. The green economy is an area of activity that we want to get francophone and Acadian communities involved in.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Has this model been successful and have you been successful with it? Has it also created a lot of jobs?

[Jean-Guy Bigeau]

Yes.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

It creates a lot of jobs. That is important.

I also have questions about another area. Do you take a different approach to economic development, entrepreneurship, and job creation for newcomers and immigrants who arrive in francophone minority communities, as compared to those who may have been there for a long time? Do you have an approach to ensure that immigrants do not go work in official language majority communities and that they will be attracted to francophone communities, if they speak French of, course?

[Jean-Guy Bigeau]

As a rule, we assess market needs.

We already know what the needs are and what skills are needed. When newcomers arrive, in order to facilitate their economic integration, for example, we match their skills with market needs. It is precisely this strategy that we use, so to speak, to provide for the successful economic integration of immigrants. This is the way it is done in each province and territory. At the national level, we have working groups in each field of activity that I mentioned earlier, and each one of our members participates. Of course, we set out a work plan and are careful to take a consistent approach to helping immigrants integrate. This is the way we operate in each province and territory.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you, Mr. Bigeau.

Mr. Arseneault, you may ask a short question.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Welcome, Mr. Bigeau. I would like to thank you and your colleague for the information you are providing.

Does your organization work with francophone minority economic development agencies?

[Jean-Guy Bigeau]

Yes.

In most cases, we work directly with them. In New Brunswick, for instance, the Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick is a member of our network. Whether in New Brunswick, Manitoba or Alberta, the francophone economic development agencies are part of our network.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Okay.

As to federal agencies ...

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

I'm sorry, Mr. Arseneault, if you don't mind, we will now move on to the second part of the presentation.

Ms. Abdi-Aden will now talk to us about immigration.

[Roukya Abdi-Aden]

Thank you very much.

I will do an overview, and speak in support of what Mr. Bigeau has said several times.

Just like your committee, our network considers that francophone immigration is a priority for the vitality and development of francophone communities, but also for the economic development of Canada. That is why we are pleased today to be able to present to you some strategies that would help the integration of immigrants into francophone communities.

Too often, there is a false perception afoot that francophone immigration is an obligation, that immigrants are brought here because of a law. Rather than an obligation, francophone immigration should be considered an opportunity and an asset, not only to strengthen our French-language communities, but also to strengthen the social and economic fabric of Canada as a whole.

Perhaps you already know these demographics, but between 1991 and 2011, the proportion of francophone immigrants in francophone and Acadian communities rose from 6.2% to 11.7%; so there has been an increase in those numbers. In addition, out of 2.5 million francophones outside Quebec, 12% are immigrants. This upward trend has to be seen as an opportunity to benefit from this immigration.

As a network, our role is to facilitate economic immigration aimed at meeting needs such as access to the francophone workforce needed to grow Canadian businesses. We also attract francophone investors, to stimulate job creation or to maintain jobs for Canadian men and women. That said, there are some challenges currently in matching up the need for workers in Canada with the pool of potential francophone immigrants.

In our opinion, we need to look at two issues. First, how can we increase our communities' capacity to recruit, receive and integrate francophone immigrants? Secondly, how can we ensure the successful establishment and integration of francophone immigrants in our communities?

To overcome these challenges, we have to deploy efforts on five fronts simultaneously.

The first involves employers. We have to make employers aware of the value hiring francophone immigrants adds to their business. We have to help these employers to develop a better grasp of the immigration process. We have to help them with the management and optimization of diversity in the workplace, so that they may retain the immigrants they hire. We have to guide and support the employers in recruiting, hiring and retaining skilled francophone immigrant workers.

You have probably heard it said several times before that Canadian employers feel the immigration process is an administrative headache. Very often, they'd rather leave a position vacant rather than try to recruit.

The second front we feel we need to work on is the dissemination of information. In my opinion, this is crucial. Before immigrants arrive, we need to provide them with information on the workplace and the immigration programs that are available to them. We also have to give them information on the tests and French-language courses that are available.

Francophone immigrant entrepreneurs interested in doing business in Canada must also be informed about the business environment and about the immigration programs available to this category of immigrant. We have heard several times about the challenge of finding a new generation of entrepreneurs. Immigrants who have a good business sense can also acquire francophone businesses, rather than seeing them close and having to start all over from scratch.

The third front is recruitment. We have to give immigrants information, because it is important, let me reiterate, that they know the labour market they are headed for.

We have to help welcome immigrants by setting up exploratory visits and introducing them to the immigration services of Canadian embassies. Canadian embassies often organize exploratory visits. I think that our network and the communities should take part in these visits to create the proper tone.

There are two categories of immigrants that are often neglected, but can be a good source of francophone immigration for us: these are temporary workers and international students. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada focuses strongly on those two categories. If our organization provided services to those two categories of immigrants, this could allow them to stay in our communities and gradually acquire permanent residency.

There has for years now been a Canada-wide push to further the recognition of credentials, and we have to continue working on that front. We have to inform immigrants about the process they have to undertake to have their credentials and diplomas recognized, and that has to begin before they arrive in Canada.

This is of course work we do on a regular basis to further the economic integration of immigrants. We support the immigrants and give them the necessary tools to help them integrate rapidly into our communities and become fulfilled members of society.

According to our practical experience on the ground, there are many ways to support the economic integration of immigrants. Our network has put in place several initiatives to facilitate that integration. For instance, last year, RDEE Canada organized a virtual job fair so as to use modern tools to facilitate the recruitment process, both for skilled immigrants who are in Canada or abroad, and for Canadian employers. The event attracted more than 1,018 visitors, and 68 of them received job offers. A second edition of the event will take place this winter, in 2017.

We also developed the Pre-Departure program, which has been in place since September 2015. Its purpose is to inform immigrants about the labour market and integrate them into it much more quickly. They can begin this process before they even arrive in our country. This program offers a complete range of employment and entrepreneurship, services, integration into various business environments, and information about settlement services in the various destination communities.

We are in the process of developing a replacement career project for immigrants that would offer francophone immigrants the opportunity of practising other professions than the ones they were initially trained in, while allowing them to use their skills in related employment. The objective of that project, if it is approved, would be to guide these newcomers toward new careers in areas such as business, finance, administration, accounting, computers, architecture, engineering, marketing, advertising and health.

Regarding the Roadmap for Canada's Official Languages 2013-2018, I would just add one thing. You know that a sum of $149 million has been set aside for language training. I have only one reservation. That is very good, but those funds were for the provision of language classes in French or English. You know that an immigrant can only take one course. He cannot take both French and English courses at the same time. That said, those programs have allowed non-francophone immigrants to benefit from French-language courses.

In conclusion, we believe that the regular programs of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada should support the whole continuum of francophone immigration, including the economic integration of our francophone immigrants. Indeed, employability is an essential link in the integration journey and in the retention of immigrants. If a family arrives but the father or mother cannot find work, imagine the mental and social impact this can have on the family and the children. I find that that link in the continuum is often neglected. We have to support that aspect. We already have services in place, but they have to be enriched, strengthened, and we have to ensure that these programs are adapted to the needs of immigrants.

Consequently—

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much, Madam Abdi-Aden.

[Roukya Abdi-Aden]

No problem.