Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
It's always an honour and a privilege to appear before you.
Since our last meeting in April 2022, on this same matter, a number of important events and decisions have occurred.
On the federal side, Bill C‑13, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, was passed by the House of Commons. Congratulations. I know you worked very hard.
On the Quebec side, the reform of the Charter of the French Language has been adopted and is now being implemented. Most recently, the Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration announced her own initiatives concerning immigration and the French language.
This morning, I want to draw your attention to a particular commitment in Bill C‑13: that the federal government, recognizing and taking into account the fact that French “is in a minority situation in Canada and North America due to the predominant use of English,” is committed to “protecting and promoting French.” The bill even recognizes “the necessity of protecting and promoting the French language in each province and territory” and states that every federal institution must avoid, or at least mitigate, the direct negative impacts of this commitment in carrying out its mandate.
If there's one area where recognizing the importance of protecting the French language in Quebec has been clear over the past 50 years, it's immigration.
The preamble to the Couture‑Cullen agreement, signed in 1978 by Canada and Quebec, recognized that immigration “must contribute to Quebec's social and cultural enrichment, taking into account its specifically French character.”
The Meech Lake accord incorporated the principles of this agreement and went even further. It provided that Canada would conclude an agreement on immigration with Quebec that would provide an undertaking by Canada to withdraw services for the linguistic and cultural integration of all immigrants wishing to settle in Quebec, where those services are provided by Quebec.
The Canada-Quebec Accord relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens, signed in 1991 and still in force today, implements this undertaking, despite the failure of the Meech Lake accord. As immigration is a shared jurisdiction in the Constitution, the immigration accord sets each government's role in this area. It also has quasi-constitutional status in that it cannot be amended without the consent of both governments.
We now have a reformed Official Languages Act that states that federal institutions must avoid initiatives that might have negative impacts on the commitment to protect the French language in each province. We also have a Canada-Quebec Accord on Immigration that clearly aims to protect Quebec's specifically French character.
I would like to make one last point to complete the picture, outside the legislative context.
English is not only predominant in Canada and North America. The number of English speakers in the world—1.3 billion—is almost five times greater than the number of French speakers—277 million. The pool for recruiting French speakers from abroad is therefore five times smaller. It will never be easy to attract enough immigrants to maintain the demographic weight of French speakers, whether in Quebec, outside Quebec, or in Canada as a whole.
Moreover, it will always be easier to obtain permanent residency in a province other than Quebec. While selection is done by Quebec, admission is done by the federal government. Federal policies and administrative decisions on immigration further limit Quebec's appeal and may draw French-speaking immigrants with temporary status in Quebec to another province to apply for permanent residency. I named a few last year; I could provide you with more examples during the question and answer period if you're interested.
This approach may help meet francophone immigration targets outside Quebec, but such measures go against the spirit and letter of Bill C‑13 and certainly against the spirit and objectives of the Canada-Quebec accord. Francophone immigration is critical for the entire Canadian francophonie.
Thank you for your attention. I would be happy to answer your questions.