Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for inviting me here today.
I've been a member of the Barreau du Québec since 1992. I was a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada for 11 years. From 2012 to 2015, I was a lecturer at the Saint‑Laurent CEGEP, teaching in the administrative techniques—immigration advisory program. I'm a member of the Quebec Immigration Lawyers Association and the Association des avocats de la défense de Montréal.
I practise immigration law exclusively at Handfield et Associés, Avocats. I also work as an inspector for the professional inspection service of the Barreau du Québec. I co‑authored the book Démantèlement tranquille, published by Éditions Québec Amérique in 2018. I am the author of Immigration et criminalité au Canada : Quand l'expulsion devient inévitable, a book published by Wilson & Lafleur in 2020, and the book Fatima : le parcours d'une réfugiée, also published by Wilson & Lafleur, in 2021.
Over the past 30 years, I have often had to deal with the lack of respect for the French language in immigration matters in various forums. This has happened at the Immigration and Refugee Board, at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and at the Canada Border Services Agency. I have seen that this situation has been getting worse for a number of years. Let me give you a few examples.
At a refugee protection claimant's hearing, the Immigration and Refugee Board tried to prevent me from using the language of proceedings chosen by my client, in this case French. The Federal Court had to intervene to ensure that my client's choice was respected, which involved time and energy that could have been invested in a much better way.
It was impossible to communicate in French with registry officers of the Immigration and Refugee Board at the regional office in Toronto, even though several files of refugee protection claimants from Montreal had been transferred to that office.
Just yesterday, in the case of a refugee protection claimant in Montreal, while the language of the proceedings was French, it was impossible to use the services of a French‑speaking interpreter to translate from French to the claimant's mother tongue. Only an English‑speaking interpreter was assigned to the file.
It's not uncommon to receive a 12‑line communication from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada containing no fewer than 17 errors in French.
Recently, I received written reasons from an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officer for a decision on an application for permanent residence with humanitarian and compassionate considerations. This communication was in English only, even though the application had been submitted in French and the language of correspondence chosen was French.
An officer's reasons for decision for a pre‑removal risk assessment were sent in English only, even though the application and written submissions were submitted in French and the language of the procedures chosen by the client was French.
It's common to receive correspondence from an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officer in English only as part of a family reunification file, when the file was submitted in French and the language of correspondence chosen was also French.
Unfortunately, these don't seem to be exceptional or isolated cases, but rather a trend that is taking root. So we can advance the hypothesis that francophones are facing discrimination in immigration.
As I've been practising immigration law for 30 years, I could go on giving you examples of cases where the French language has been flouted by immigration authorities in Canada in favour of the English language.
So it seems to me that the government's intervention to ensure respect for the French language before the various immigration authorities is more urgent than ever.
Thank you for your attention.