Evidence of meeting #36 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was destination.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
We have champions in those areas.
Whatever the case may be, do you think this is an appropriate option to consider?
9:45 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
If it works, the answer is yes. The proof is in the results.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Since I have a minute left, I will ask you the following question.
How do we go about managing 600 integration organizations in Canada? That seems impossible to me.
November 24th, 2016 / 9:45 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
No, it is not impossible. We have the necessary budget and resources. We also have an audit system.
and we have an online portal for grants and contributions.
It has worked for many years, and the services have been delivered.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Pardon me, but I must interrupt you because I have only 30 seconds left.
Earlier you talked about definitions. You mentioned that a francophile whose mother tongue was not French was not considered a francophone. That somewhat distorts the statistics. Is a person whose mother tongue is Wolof but who speaks English considered an anglophone?
9:45 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
That is probably the case, by default.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Do you understand what I mean when I talk about duality?
9:45 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Yes.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
We are immediately included in the anglophone majority.
9:45 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
That is why we want to change not only the definition, but also the ways of measuring everything. We have to be able to allocate money to the right place since many people are considered anglophones.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Do you see how easy it is to fall into the anglophone majority?
9:45 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Yes.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
This is structural assimilation. I simply want your organization to be aware of that.
9:45 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I have spent most of the years of my life in a minority setting and therefore clearly understand the situation.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much, Mr. Arseneault.
Thank you very much, Ms. Beck. I know you have to leave us.
We will suspend for a few minutes.
Mr. Choquette, you have the floor.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Mr. Choquette, we are simply taking a brief five-minute break, and then we will resume with our other two witnesses, Ms. Irish and Mr. Viel.
Thank you, Ms. Beck.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
I now call the meeting back to order.
I would note that I had a newspaper article distributed to you. It is for your personal information. It is not an official committee document. I simply wanted to draw your attention to the article.
We will continue with Mrs. Boucher, who has five minutes.
9:45 a.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We are talking extensively about immigration. What the witnesses are telling us today is very interesting. I have a lot of questions. So I will begin.
The provinces and territories show enormous openness to francophone immigration. We have heard a great deal about many francophones who are beginning to arrive in the territories, including Yukon.
At their last meeting, the first ministers agreed to request that the federal government revise its francophone immigration target upward. Has Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada reacted to that request? If so, in what way? Have you shared that information with the members?
9:45 a.m.
Director, Official Languages Secretariat, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
As you know, and as we indicated earlier, we already have two targets: one of 4% and the other 4.4%. We have indeed received a suggestion from the provinces and territories that they be increased or that another target be set. However, I am not sure establishing another target is the most productive option to consider.
We are busy creating tools. We are taking action to achieve results. We know the current targets are major challenges. Our minister has moreover acknowledged that the targets are a challenge. Rather than set a new target, we are focusing our energies on delivering programs, and I would like to provide some additional information on that subject. Mr. Chair, with your permission, I would like to react to a question that was asked earlier.
We have conducted audits, and the budget cuts to Destination Canada were made in the 2012-2013 fiscal year. A great deal of attention has been focused on this initiative, which is being masterfully carried out by our colleagues in Paris. However, we must be aware that, in addition to Destination Canada, which is essentially a major job fair, our Paris colleagues also organize webinars and information sessions. It is important to consider that the same Paris colleagues—and this is not well known—have organized 75 information sessions in Europe, in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Spain. They have met 4,100 persons, potential clients, to make them aware of the possibility of immigrating to the francophone minority communities.
10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
You mention your Paris colleagues. Are they IRCC employees who are at the embassy?
10 a.m.
Director, Official Languages Secretariat, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
They are departmental colleagues who are at the Canadian embassy in Paris. We have teams in several embassies. Our embassy in Paris is one of the largest. We also have good teams in place in Dakar and Tunis.
10 a.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
I see.
You mentioned new programs and tools. We are at the federal level. I imagine you have agreements with the provinces and territories. When you discuss francophone immigration, are some provinces more reluctant than others to address this question?
10 a.m.
Director, Official Languages Secretariat, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I think there are leaders in the provinces and territories.
It is common knowledge that New Brunswick is a true leader. Ontario also shows considerable interest in that regard. Traditionally, Manitoba has also always been very much involved.
We also see new players increasingly emerging in the provinces and territories. We see that authorities in the provinces and territories are generally very much engaged. It will be interesting to see how that comes together at the next forum, which will focus on francophone immigration and will be held in Moncton in March.
10 a.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
All right.
I think Mr. Généreux would like to ask a question.
