Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Let’s talk about francophone immigration. For five years, from 2005 to 2010, the AFY provided settlement services in French and English to the people of the Yukon.
In 2010, we lost the contract to an anglophone organization that had no obligation to provide services in French and still does not. Since 2010, the AFY has encountered much reluctance from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, whose acronym used to be CIC.
As for the legitimacy of the need for services in French for francophone immigrants in the Yukon, we have had to fight for two years to obtain some minimal funding to provide support to francophone immigrants. That funding did not allow us to hire a full-time person.
Between 2012 and 2015, we calculated that, for the same work as the AFY was doing, two francophone organizations in the Northwest Territories received four times more funding. That is legitimate and enables francophone organizations in the Northwest Territories to provide quality services. We clearly don’t think it’s a bad thing that they had so much money. However, we don’t understand why there is such a discrepancy between the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
Let us stress that, for welcoming francophone immigrants in minority communities, it is essential that the service be provided by the francophone community. The “by” and “for” are especially important in francophone immigration if our goal is to integrate immigrants into our community. It's sort of the same thing as early childhood. If we do not reach out to them right upon arrival, we will definitely lose them. An anglophone organization will not direct francophones to the francophone community.
We have tried to do as much as possible with the resources available, but staff retention is very difficult when you just have a part-time position to offer. It is worrisome to see that we are still forced to convince the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials in our region of the need to support francophone immigration in the Yukon.
Actually, it's always the same question of the chicken or the egg. The officials say that the funding depends on the number of eligible immigrants using our services. However, we believe that it's impossible to reach those numbers without adequate funding and services—particularly promotion and recruitment.
We have been going around in circles for a number of years, especially because few potential immigrants have heard of the Yukon. If they have heard of it, they sometimes think that we live in igloos and that our streets are haunted by polar bears.
However, our model makes it possible to have the entire continuum of services for immigrants, including promotion, recruitment and reception or social, cultural and economic integration.
We believe we have some momentum because, as Mr. Nolet mentioned, we are taking part in Destination Canada for the first time since 2011 with funding from the Yukon government. Let's also note once again that we had to work very hard to convince the authorities to support us as a result of the cuts at CIC from a few years ago; it is no longer helping the provinces and territories to fund Destination Canada.
The target of 4.4% is the department's target, but it is essential that it be reached. We feel that we can be a good partner to help achieve this target and to increase the number of francophone immigrants in the Yukon. As I said earlier, the AFY has recently published the document entitled Taking action for a vibrant and dynamic Yukon Francophone Community. This document includes requests from the Franco-Yukon community to the federal and territorial governments as well as to the City of Whitehorse.
With respect to immigration, the AFY made three specific requests. The first is to implement a strategy to achieve the 4.4% francophone immigration target set for the Yukon, and to include all immigration continuum components (recruitment, reception, integration and retention). That target is very important. Yet without a strategy and action plan, it will never be achieved. From January to September 2015, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada programs have admitted no francophone immigrants to the Yukon. That has to change.
Another request from our document is to fund the AFY so that it can offer full-time French-language services for francophone immigrants to the Yukon. As mentioned earlier, resources are still essential to accomplish the work. The only recruiting tools that we currently have are a web page and a Facebook page. We'll still be able to participate in Destination Canada this year thanks to funding from the Yukon government.
In addition, the IRCC criteria for eligible clients are very restrictive. Many people come to our offices without being eligible clients. We do our best to help them without violating the terms of our agreements, but they do not count in the results and in the calculation of the workload of our employees.
Furthermore, we request that the French test required to obtain permanent residency be available in the Yukon, at the same cost as the English test. We think the current situation makes no sense. Not only is the French test more expensive than the English one, but it is not even available in the Yukon. Someone who needs to take it must go to either Vancouver or Montreal. So you need to add the cost of the plane ticket and accommodation there.
Clearly, the Yukon is not for everyone, but even so, there are a number of francophone immigrants there. They come with temporary permits or working holiday permits. They want to stay, but finding ways to do so is very complicated for them. The IRCC funding should allow recruitment and immigrant service organizations to serve anyone potentially interested in becoming permanent residents, including international students.
Finally, in closing, let me reiterate that, in order to achieve the target identified by the government, it is essential that we give ourselves tangible tools to do so. This must not be another empty promise. The IRCC must consider the different realities of the provinces and territories. An important and significant consideration is that we should not view immigration in silos. We need to encourage co-operation among all those working toward the reception and integration of francophone immigrants.
Once again, thank you for inviting us. We are ready to answer any questions you may have.