Official Languages Committee on Oct. 6th, 2016

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

Has your organization conducted studies to determine, with respect to Manitoba specifically, what financial resources you would need, what they would be used for, and to what purpose they would be directed?

[Bintou Sacko]

No, we have not conducted any studies of that kind, but we are developing a strategy with the Province of Manitoba. Several meetings have been organized concerning the communities in the province of Manitoba. The federal government is also working together with us to adopt a strategy for the franco-Manitoban community that will enable us to cover the five strategic focus areas and to determine the financial resources we will need to work there. In this case, we are talking about recruitment, intake, integration, retention and socioeconomic integration. The five strategic focus areas are thus touched upon. Once this strategy is in place, we will be in a better position to determine what resources we need in order to move the files forward.

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

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Choquette, you have the floor.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much for your participation and testimony. They are very much appreciated.

You talked about the Entrée express program and the francophone significant benefit program, now called Mobilité francophone. We have heard about the negative effects of the cancellation of that program over a certain period. Businesses and entrepreneurs got out of the habit of using that tool, which is very important, to encourage new francophone immigrants to come and to get them into the workplace as quickly as possible. We know it is the economy that makes it possible for us to continue to grow as part of a francophone community.

Are you working with businesses, talking to them about the return of this program and telling them they should use it and consider its benefits? How are they receiving the program's return?

[Bintou Sacko]

They are receiving it very positively. When the francophone significant benefit program was cancelled, we felt a sense of total separation from employers, and discouragement set in. The program's restoration brought us back to the starting point. We would like to convince those employers to continue supporting the francophone community through recruitment.

A few weeks ago, we received representatives of the four Canadian embassies in Paris, Tunisia, Morocco and Senegal. Their representatives came here to Manitoba to meet with employers interested in recruiting internationally and talked about the new program and the available opportunities. It was very positive. There was a meeting in the morning with members of the community to learn more about how the program works and what it provides and to establish ties with our overseas embassies. In the afternoon, the employers who had been invited came to listen to the representatives and to make contact with them and facilitate recruitment.

So the return of the program has been positively received. It was done in cooperation with other structures here in Manitoba and of course with the province itself.

The program has been relaunched, and we hope to be able to continue our activities so that people can use it.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

That is very good news.

In Canada as a whole, the target francophone immigration rate in the minority communities is 4.4%. What is your target in Manitoba? Are you far from it? Do you know the figures?

[Bintou Sacko]

I do not have the exact figures, but I know that, over a specific year, the target was still 7% in Manitoba, whereas we had not even achieved 4%. We are a little behind.

The settlement program and immigration-related resources were previously managed by the Province of Manitoba. Those resources were withdrawn by the federal government, which somewhat limited the action that the Province of Manitoba could take to address recruitment in various places. So that also had consequences. In addition, limits were set because the population of Manitoba was rapidly increasing. At one point, our target of 10,000 fell to 5,000. So that had an impact on francophone recruitment here in Manitoba.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

The federal government therefore cut the funding offered to the provinces to encourage francophone immigration?

[Bintou Sacko]

The entire immigration program as a whole was cancelled. Manitoba managed a portfolio for a long time. I would remind you that, until 2003, we managed the structure of Accueil francophone and that our contribution agreements were signed by the Province of Manitoba. That funding was withdrawn from the province, as a result of which we are now signing our contribution agreements directly with the federal government, with IRCC. The province thus does not have enough resources to manage the portfolio. In spite of everything, the candidate recruitment program is still in existence, but the province does not have enough resources to do everything it would like to do.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you.

Mr. Vandal, you have the floor.

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

Good morning, Ms. Sacko.

I have a question for you concerning the roadmap.

I know that the Société franco-manitobaine noted during the consultations held in 2011 that the roadmap was not aligned with the franco-Manitoban community's priorities, even though the community had a strategic plan.

Could you explain your take on the roadmap to us? Is the roadmap currently aligned with the priorities of the community and the Société franco-manitobaine?

[Bintou Sacko]

Absolutely. The priorities stated in the francophone immigration file are in complete alignment with the strategy of the Société franco-manitobaine.

As I said at the outset, growth in the francophone space is the strategy of the Société franco-manitobaine, and immigration is part of that. The roadmap underscores the areas that are very important, particularly language training, which is currently very important for francophone immigrants arriving in our province. That aspect is supported by the Société franco-manitobaine.

In fact, Manitoba is still considered a leader in francophone immigration. You are our member, and you know that perfectly well. We are working very well with you and the Winnipeg World Trade Centre on recruitment.

So all the files are absolutely supported by the Société franco-manitobaine, and that aligns very well with its strategy in the francophone immigration file.

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

Could you tell us about topics other than immigration, such as education, health and youth? Would you be able to discuss those subjects or just immigration?

[Bintou Sacko]

I am much more prepared to address the immigration issue, but perhaps I could discuss the education sector, since I have been in the community for some time now.

A lot of recommendations can be made on education. I briefly touched on early childhood, which is currently a priority for Manitoba's francophone community. The idea is to support early childhood by opening day care centres. This is a very tough file for the francophone community. There is a very big deficiency in this area.

As regards secondary education, registration in the franco-Manitoban school division is increasing. This comes back somewhat to the immigration issue. New things are happening right now. That school division was initially established based on the needs that existed at the time. However, we know the community is changing, and, with the estates general, we have observed many changes, particularly in education. Our task is to strengthen the structures of the franco-Manitoban school division in order to meet the needs arising from changes in the community.

In postsecondary education, the Université de Saint-Boniface is currently the only francophone university in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It also needs to be supported in establishing many programs. We have extensively discussed French-language occupational and technical training. Those programs are virtually non-existent here in Manitoba. Those kinds of programs are available only in English. People are therefore required to learn English or to be proficient enough in English to take that training. If they had the choice, they would be much more comfortable doing it in French. We therefore need to support a structure of this kind so that we can move forward.

I do not know whether I should talk about other fields.

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

That is fine.

When we discuss immigration, I like to think of it in terms of recruitment, intake, and integration. In what area is Manitoba most successful? Is it in recruitment, intake, or integration?

[Bintou Sacko]

I would say its intake capacity is very strong. That is the first structure that was created. Programs have been developed based on the needs of clients, in particular to welcome them at the airport and help them settle here in the community.

However, once immigrants are settled here, we need strong programs to integrate them. Whether you like it or not, integration depends on employment. We need a lot of programs that are more capable of supporting them in this area so that they can quickly access the labour market. As the pool is somewhat limited in the francophone community, these people will look everywhere.

In addition, a single structure, Winnipeg's World Trade Centre, focuses on recruitment, and I know it needs a lot of support.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Mr. Vandal, you may ask one final question.

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

Thank you.

I would like to know what field has the most deficiencies. Is it recruitment or integration?

[Bintou Sacko]

I would say both. Recruitment and integration are two areas requiring considerable investment.

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

Thank you very much, Ms. Sacko.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you.

Ms. Lapointe, you have two minutes.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you.

Good morning and welcome.

Earlier you said you had been invited to a consultation on official languages and had enjoyed it. You had a number of recommendations.

The ideal would be for you to prepare a list of your suggestions concerning the roadmap since we will not be able to address them all today. Then we would be able to include them in our report, whether they concern the roadmap or immigration. You may send them to the clerk, and that will be very much appreciated.

[Bintou Sacko]

All right. I will be pleased to do that.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you.

On the topic of immigrant recruitment, you said we were not focusing very much on certain countries. You mentioned Morocco and Senegal.

Are there any other countries that we should target for francophone immigration?