If we had a specific framework for measuring francophone immigration to Canada, it would help agencies and institutions that work in the sector more accurately measure changes in francophone immigration to Canada. That would help us conduct more thorough follow‑up on the subject.
I recently had a chance to speak with some researchers, including Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, who cooperated in the study that the Commissioner of Official Languages conducted on the 4.4% immigration target in the minority communities. That kind of data would help develop predictive models and provide better follow‑up to IRCC. While some data were available in 2003, 2008, 2019 and 2021, there are nevertheless discrepancies that must be corrected regarding access to immigration data and, more specifically, for official language minority communities.
I would be good to have an accountability framework, specific objectives and better metrics to assist in conducting more regular and constant follow‑up, ideally from year to year, and in determining the extent to which immigration thresholds can be reestablished for minority communities. The ideal would be to have a restorative target in the next few years.