House of Commons Hansard #32 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was crtc.
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.
Two weeks ago, Radio-Canada reported that asylum seekers hoping to take French lessons in Quebec were prevented from doing so as a result of new rules implemented by the Quebec minister of education that prohibit asylum seekers and newcomers from taking French lessons.
Would she agree that it makes no sense for Quebec's ministry of education to prevent newcomers to Quebec from taking French lessons?
Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
That is a matter that falls under Quebec's jurisdiction. The member can ask the Quebec minister of education about what is happening in Quebec.
However, today, I am talking about Bill C-223, which the House should support because it seeks to give newcomers to Quebec an opportunity to speak French.
Kristina Michaud Bloc Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.
Unfortunately, news reports are reminding us that the French language is in decline in Quebec right now. We often tend to be too quick to blame young people, but I would like to remind members that the young people of my generation care a lot about French and that we will do everything in our power to ensure that it is protected in Quebec.
I would like to know whether my colleague thinks that the Liberals should vote in favour of this bill if they seriously want to protect the French language in Quebec.
Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Madam Speaker, that is a good question, and I thank my colleague.
Young people are indeed the future. In Quebec, young people are also the future of the French language.
The current government must support this bill because it is very important for the French language. For days now, the Liberals and Conservatives have been saying how important French in Quebec is. They must prove it today by voting in favour of Bill C-223.
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her presentation and for this bill, which I will be very pleased to vote in favour of.
Some time ago, Quebec adopted an excellent law to protect the French language called the Charter of the French Language. The charter ended up being gutted by the Supreme Court, which is Canada's real government and which literally put it through the wringer.
In other words, it seems that standing up for French means nothing more than empty, purely symbolic motions and lip service. This bill, which makes sense in the same way that a distinct nation requiring the use of its own language within its borders makes sense, might not pass.
Does Quebec have to be independent so it can defend the French language?
Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Madam Speaker, that is a good question.
Indeed, we are here today to defend Bill C-223, which is about making knowledge of French a requirement for newcomers to Quebec. We need the support of all MPs to pass this bill. Otherwise, we will have to take other measures to finally achieve Quebec independence.
Soraya Martinez Ferrada LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-223, which proposes changes to the current process for permanent residents of Canada to become Canadian citizens.
Before I address the bill specifically, I would like to take a moment to talk about myself and my family. I came to Quebec as a political refugee in the early years of Bill 101. I am a child of the very first reception classes and francization classes in Quebec. My single mother and my grandparents, who were over 60 years old, took francization classes at the infamous Centres d'orientation et de formation des immigrants, commonly known as COFIs.
My aunt Marcela arrived in 1978 at the age of 17. She also learned French upon arrival and worked for more than 20 years as a nurse in Quebec health care. She is now a francophone doctor in her field and a professor in the nursing program at the Université du Québec en Outaouais.
We all received our citizenship before we could speak French. Today, my children and my cousins are all young Quebec francophones who work and study in French. That was possible in 1980, and I think it is still possible today.
The Government of Canada encourages all immigrants to commit to taking part in every aspect of Canadian and Quebec society. Getting Canadian citizenship is one of the best foundations for successful integration in life. Immigrants make a considerable contribution on a cultural, economic, social and political level. They volunteer, join community organizations and share their points of view on so many important issues in our society.
Anyone who has had the chance to attend or take part in a citizenship ceremony knows that it is a very moving experience. It is a very touching celebration. It is an official step in a process for gaining Canadian citizenship. For most immigrants, this step signifies that they have demonstrated their knowledge of Canada, their host country, of its history and the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship. They were also able to demonstrate that they can speak French or English and that they commit to living and working in this country.
The government of Canada is determined to help all newcomers acquire the French or English language skills they need to integrate into their host community and to contribute to the country's economy.
As we know, the pandemic has had significant repercussions for almost all sectors of society. We are now striving to adapt to the new realities and to make as many positive changes as possible. In March, in response to the constantly evolving COVID-19 situation, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada decided to cancel all citizenship ceremonies, tests, retests and in-person interviews. Through innovation and the use of existing platforms, we were fortunately able to continue welcoming new Canadian citizens at virtual citizenship ceremonies.
Recently, in mid-October 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada held almost 8,800 ceremonies at which more than 43,000 new Canadian citizens took the oath of citizenship. We are currently planning the resumption of citizenship tests using technology that will let candidates take online tests. While waiting for the online testing solution to be ready and accessible, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is using a virtual platform to process urgent citizenship applications and administer a small number of citizenship tests and interviews.
Citizenship officers began contacting clients who reported an urgent need to obtain citizenship. The implementation of such measures shows our commitment to reducing the obstacles to citizenship during this very unusual time. It is important to point out that the government places a high value on Canada's two official languages. As a result, we remain determined to welcome more francophone newcomers. We believe that all newcomers to Canada and Quebec enrich our communities.
Most members know that Quebec is the only province that has an immigration agreement with the federal government.
Quebec selects its immigrants from the economic class. Most immigrants who live in Quebec speak French. Census data show that, 10 years after they arrive in Canada, 90.5% of economic immigrants, 71.1% of immigrants under the family reunification program and 84.3% of refugees speak French. Under this agreement, Quebec is also responsible for French-language and integration programs.
We must continue to be welcoming and open to the world. We must ensure that we promote francophone immigration and French-language training for all immigrants and refugees who settle in Quebec.
The Government of Canada knows that immigration positively contributes to our country's economy and society. We also know that newcomers contribute to the vitality of communities, particularly francophone minority communities outside Quebec, but also communities within Quebec. We need to maintain the demographic weight of francophones in North America, which is why francophone immigration is so important. That is why we are taking numerous measures to increase francophone immigration, promote the integration and retention of French-speaking newcomers and build capacity in francophone communities.
As part of the government's official languages action plan, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will invest more than $40 million over five years to support a consolidated francophone integration pathway. In 2019, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada launched new language training services to support the francophone integration pathway, which helps French-speaking newcomers who settle in francophone minority communities and improves their language skills.
Although progress toward achieving these targets depends on lifting pandemic-related travel restrictions, I think we will get there eventually and increase the number of francophone newcomers across the country.
Taken together, these measures will help French-speaking newcomers build new lives in Canada and signal the government's support for linguistic duality in this country. The government's focus on French and francophone immigration will also strengthen the demographic weight of francophones in Quebec.
Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to deliver this speech in Canada's two official languages.
The proposed Bloc Québécois amendment to the Citizenship Act is something the Conservatives have given much thought and consideration. Our response is guided by two core principles of the Conservative Party.
The first principle is recognition of the Quebec nation by former prime minister Stephen Harper and our commitment to protecting its language and culture.
In my remarks, I will first address the proposed change to the maximum age at which knowledge of either English or French is necessary to obtain citizenship. I will then address the proposed change to require knowledge of French for applicants who wish to live in the province of Quebec.
We support the principle behind the French language requirement since it corresponds to our values and the commitment of our leader to Quebeckers. However, the Conservatives have concerns about the proposed change to the maximum age for which linguistic knowledge is mandatory, which would increase from 55 to 65.
Accordingly, we support the bill at first reading, while ensuring that the perspectives of older new Canadians are heard and their concerns reviewed in committee and addressed in amendments if necessary.
The Conservatives believe in compassionate measures to assist in family reunification and to uphold Canada's humanitarian tradition as a safe haven for refugees. We recognize that raising the maximum age may present challenges for families seeking to obtain citizenship for their older parents and grandparents, who may experience greater difficulties becoming fully bilingual. We want to ensure that parents and grandparents are treated with dignity.
Many families already face tremendous difficulties at the hands of the Liberal government, which never seems to get family reunification right, as we have seen across this country with heartbreaking stories of family separation due to the government's inability to recognize the desperate need to prioritize family reunification. It even brought back a failed grandparents and parents lottery system that is unfair, uncompassionate and ineffective. Immigrants and new Canadians deserve better.
This bill would make knowledge of French mandatory instead of French or English for permanent residents who live in Quebec and wish to obtain Canadian citizenship.
We support the principle behind this measure and we recognize the urgency of doing more than sharing French in Quebec. The situation of French in Quebec is getting worse. Outside of the Liberal caucus, there is a broad consensus on this. It is especially true in Montreal.
Montreal is one of the great metropolises in Canada and indeed in all of North America. Having lived and worked there for four years as a university student, I had the privilege of experiencing first-hand the richness of its history, diversity and culture. Part of what makes Montreal so unique is that it was founded in French, and French has been the main language spoken there for nearly all of its 378 years of existence. Francophone Quebeckers understandably wish to preserve its distinct character in the face of the pressures of globalization and assimilation into a North American standard that is uniformly English.
Unfortunately, the historical character of Montreal is being increasingly called into question.
In its April 2019 report, the Office québécois de la langue française found that nearly half of all francophone clients surveyed in the Montreal area were addressed in languages other than French.
A survey published last week in Le journal de Montréal showed that the staff of several retail chains in downtown Montreal addressed their customers in English only. Furthermore, they could not even communicate important information about public health guidelines that applied in the store and the possibility that their products might contain ingredients to which a customer might be allergic.
The Liberals, much like the member for Saint-Laurent in Montreal, have blatantly and inappropriately chosen to ignore and downplay this reality. As Conservatives, we choose instead to act.
That is why our leader has committed to allowing the application of Bill 101, which makes French the official language of work in Quebec, in federally regulated businesses in Quebec and to giving Quebec more powers in immigration matters. He reiterated his commitments when he met with Premier Legault on September 14.
I have to point out that there is a significant difference between the Conservative approach and that of the Bloc Québécois. Rather than amending the federal Citizenship Act, the Conservative government would work with Quebec to enhance the powers and autonomy of Quebec's government with respect to immigration based on the immigration agreement that was was put in place by Canada and Quebec in 1991. The Canada-Quebec accord was a great success and the Conservatives would strengthen this approach, which has already proven itself.
I must also point out another major difference between our approach and that of the Bloc. There will never be a Bloc Québécois government and its leader will never be the prime minister of Canada. Only the Conservative Party can beat the Liberals in the next election and elect a prime minister who could act on Quebeckers' priorities, defend their interests and protect their language.
Some might suggest that the French language requirement in this bill represents radical change. We disagree. The reality is that Quebec already controls most of its immigration, and French-language requirements have long played an important and critical role in Quebec's determination of eligibility for permanent residency.
Immigration to Quebec is a shared jurisdiction, governed by the terms of the Canada-Quebec accord relating to immigration and temporary admission of aliens, agreed to in partnership between the Quebec and Canadian governments in 1991. One of the agreement's objectives is, “the preservation of Quebec’s demographic importance within Canada and the integration of immigrants to that province in a manner that respects the distinct identity of Quebec.” The accord gives Quebec sole responsibility for the selection of economic immigrants and skilled workers, as well as most immigrants in the humanitarian and refugee categories. For the majority of these immigrants, knowledge of French is either a requirement for successful selection or part of the criteria in a points-based system for determining eligibility.
The Quebec government has signalled its intention to both strengthen its requirements for knowledge of French in these categories and provide greater resources for French-language teaching and integration services. Some exceptions to this framework include immigrants in the family reunification category, as well as those who make refugee claims within Canadian territory. Our approach would allow the Quebec government to extend the same rules and criteria to those additional immigrant categories with respect to obtaining Canadian citizenship. This bill, though different from our approach, goes in the same direction, which is why we have chosen to support it on that basis at first reading.
In conclusion, our leader and our party have great respect for the Quebec nation and understand the cultural importance of protecting the French language. The Conservatives are offering Quebeckers a serious alternative to the Liberals. We are the only ones who can beat them in the next election and form the next government.
Only a Conservative government will be able to work with the Legault government to obtain real results for Quebeckers.
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Madam Speaker, I would like to speak to this bill.
I used to be a Quebecker, having lived in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, in the city formerly known as Chicoutimi and now known as Saguenay; in the Eastern Townships, in the city of Sherbrooke; in Montreal, in Plateau Mont-Royal; and in the Outaouais, in Hull, now known as Gatineau. I have some perspectives to share about this bill and about the use of French in Quebec.
There certainly are concerns about wanting to increase the use of French in Quebec. Having lived in Quebec for more than 10 years and having always insisted on being served in French, even with my accent, I never experienced the problems that are often raised about downtown Montreal. Although I was never denied service in French, I believe the concerns that have been raised and I think we need to do more to protect and promote the French fact in Quebec and across Canada.
This is why I am proud of my party's history. As members know, the NDP was the first party to recognize Quebec's right to self-determination and to push for legislation on Canada's official languages.
When the NDP was in power in provinces where it previously formed a government, the French fact thrived. In my home province of British Columbia, the NDP is the one that implemented the existing francophone school system with dozens and dozens of schools following that curriculum. There are French schools for francophones all across British Columbia.
It was the same thing in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In Alberta, Léo Piquette, a former NDP member, really helped to advance the French fact and the rights of Franco-Albertans. In Ontario, the NDP government established the francophone college network and increased services for francophones.
In New Brunswick, there was Elizabeth Weir, the former leader of our party in that province. There was also Yvon Godin, who was a member here in the House for a long time and who was recognized everywhere for his strong and passionate promotion of the French language and the Official Languages Act. We miss Yvon Godin. I know that Madam Speaker is also sorry that he is no longer a member of the House of Commons. We wish him a happy retirement. His voice was always extremely strong here in the House of Commons.
I am telling all these stories to illustrate the NDP approach to strengthening the French fact in Quebec and across Canada. Naturally, it starts with extending Bill 101 to federal institutions. People who work in Quebec must have the right to work in French. The systematic refusal, first by the Conservatives and then by the Liberals, to ensure that francophone workers can work in French in federal workplaces is a strange thing I have never understood. It is important to put these measures in place.
The NDP also strongly believes that Quebec's immigration-related rights need to be strengthened. We need increasing numbers of French-speaking immigrants. As everyone knows, the French fact is growing in importance internationally, and it is forecast that there will be a billion French speakers around the world within the next 20 years.
These statistics, which come from the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, also indicate that the French fact is expanding pretty much everywhere, especially in places like Africa. It is important to know this in order to understand how the French fact could be strengthened in Quebec and Canada.
This aspect is extremely important if we want to plan for francophone immigration. We have an inclusive immigration model in Canada, which makes this bill all the more interesting.
As I mentioned earlier in the House, I get a little concerned when I see the actions of the Government of Quebec around funding French courses and giving immigrants the right to take francization courses in Quebec. Two weeks ago, Radio-Canada published an article on this subject, which stated, “Many asylum seekers who were planning to attend francization courses in Quebec this fall are unable to do so. Radio-Canada has learned that new rules from the ministry of education are delaying their arrival at school or preventing them from being admitted altogether.”
The Government of Quebec is making cuts to French courses. However, these newcomers are hungry to learn French, like I was when I was in my 20s. My accent makes it easy to see that I am not a francophone. I started learning French in Chicoutimi when I was 24. I had this ideal and I thought it was extremely important to learn French, just like millions of anglophones across Canada.
In my neck of the woods, back home in New Westminster, parents line up every year to register their children in immersion schools. That does not happen so much in Quebec, but back home it is important. If people speak French well, that increases the consumption of francophone cultural products from Quebec and New Brunswick and the French language can take root, be promoted and flourish.
The Radio-Canada article talks about Christian and Ivonne, a young couple in their 30s, saying, “They left their native Colombia with their daughter to claim refugee protection in Canada in early 2020. They settled in Quebec and tried to take French language courses in the spring at a training centre for adults, but COVID-19 put everything on hold.”
They tried to register again at Centre du Phénix, but unfortunately they were informed of new rules established by Quebec's education ministry, which requires that they provide documents that are almost impossible to find to take a French course.
The Government of Quebec claims that it wants more people who speak French, but these new rules prevent newcomers from taking French courses. With all these delays, they will not have access to these courses, and that will have considerable consequences.
The NDP thinks it is clear that instead of punishing and dividing immigrants, it is important to offer them French language courses so they can learn French, as I did. Unfortunately, this bill does not facilitate an approach that would let everyone, including immigrants and refugees, take French courses. The NDP wants to promote the right of immigrants to learn French and to have access to these courses.
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
Madam Speaker, for the first time since the implementation of the Official Languages Act 51 years ago, the federal government admitted in a throne speech that the situation of French is unique. Quebec is part of the minority of eight million francophones surrounded by 360 million anglophones.The federal government is committed to strengthening the Official Languages Act to protect and promote the French language in Quebec.
We cannot forget that before the Official Languages Act, the British North America Act, 1867, set out some fairly weak provisions for official bilingualism in the federal government. Quebec was the only province to have official bilingual status, in which English was favoured. The act allowed all of the provinces, which are now predominantly English-speaking, to create assimilationist and openly ethnocidal legislation. I am sure that many members here are not aware of this rarely mentioned part of history.
For example, in a previous life, I debated the head of the Suburban, a newspaper from the West Island, where I grew up. When I mentioned these laws that banned French even for francophones, he hit the roof and said that it was completely untrue. It is easy to prove, however, because the legislation is very clear.
For example, in Ontario, teaching French was banned in 1880 and again in 1885. Later, in 1912, it happened yet again with the infamous Regulation 17. It was not until 1968 that Franco-Ontarians were able to attend French public high schools. That was not that long ago. People my age were the first to attend French public high schools in Ontario.
In 1890, Manitoba passed a law that made English the sole official language of laws and the only language of instruction. Teaching French was prohibited, even for francophones.
When Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces, they repealed section 110 of the Northwest Territories Act, which officially recognized the use of French and English in Parliament and in the courts.
Despite their Herculean efforts, francophone and Acadian communities were largely anglicized. In the last report issued by Statistics Canada in this regard, the cumulative assimilation rate was found to be approximately 75%. It is certainly even higher today.
People started to wake up and galvanize in the 1960s. There were the Estates General of French Canada. The independence movement was on the rise in Quebec, and the Laurendeau-Dunton commission was established on the heels of these events. The commission came to a damning conclusion on the state of the French language and the economic discrimination that francophones experienced across Canada and Quebec.
For example, francophones ranked 12th in terms of average salary of the 14 linguistic groups in Quebec. People say that a lot of progress has been made since then, but there is still a considerable gap.
The commissioners developed different models of language management, including models based on the principle of territoriality and collective rights, which are recognized in order to protect minority languages. These are the only models that are effective.
Among countries with several national languages, the only ones where there is no assimilation of one language by the others are those where there is a territorial model based on collective rights, such as Belgium and Switzerland, for example. In the Flemish region in Belgium, all government services are provided in Dutch. Even though Dutch is not a widely spoken language in Europe, it survives very well and is the common language there. This does not stop anyone from learning four or five other languages very effectively.
The idea behind this model is that where there is a critical mass of speakers of a certain language, it becomes the official language and all services are provided in that language.
The Laurendeau-Dunton commission, called the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, believed that Canadians would not accept this, and instead proposed a mixed model with bilingual territories.
The model chosen by Pierre Elliott Trudeau and the Liberal government of the day was that of institutional bilingualism based on a principle that has proven that it always leads to the covert assimilation of minority languages. Everywhere in the world where such a model of institutional bilingualism exists, we see the assimilation of minority languages. That is what we have seen here since the adoption of the Official Languages Act. With every census, we see that linguistic transfers from allophones to English are increasing.
The Official Languages Act of 1969 was designed to ensure that services are provided in French in federal institutions, where numbers warrant, in provinces other than Quebec. In Quebec, of course, it ensures that services are provided in French in federal institutions as well. However, its main goal is to ensure services in English everywhere, as though there was not enough of that already.
Bill 101, enacted in 1977, was founded on the principle of territoriality and collective rights. Securing the future of French and being able to help newcomers learn French and integrate is a question of math: French must be the language used by francophones, but we must ensure that it is the common language of all Quebeckers. Of course anglophones will speak English amongst themselves and italophones will speak Italian, but when people who speak different languages converse, French should be the language that brings them together. French is the mortar of Quebec society. That was the goal of Bill 101.
The Official Languages Act promotes the opposite in Quebec. Newcomers and all Quebeckers are told that there is not one but two official languages and that they can use the language of their choice, which is English. It makes sense that newcomers, who are in no way to blame, would tend to lean toward the majority when establishing themselves in a new country. Quebec is still part of Canada, and the country's majority is anglophone. The North American majority is even more strongly anglophone.
The Official Languages Act does not acknowledge that anglophones are part of the English-Canadian majority. It considers anglophones to be minorities in the same way as francophones outside Quebec. Even the UN Commission on Human Rights declared that anglophones in Quebec are not part of a minority, but part of the English-Canadian majority. It is a bit like if Quebec were independent, the federal government was not elected by the English-Canadian majority and did not interfere in Quebec.
In 1982, Ottawa imposed a Constitution on Quebec against its will and the judges it appointed in Quebec have continued to dismantle Bill 101 by virtue of this illegitimate Constitution. To Quebec, all the money from the official languages program, roughly $80 million a year, is used to defend and promote English.
The federal government funds anglophone lobbyists, organizations and institutions that are already over-funded by the Government of Quebec. Every measure for English in Quebec has taken a toll and the decline of French is so bad that Quebec is against the wall and has to mobilize yet again.
The federal government can hardly deny this decline. If the federal government wants to help, it has to stop harming.
The comments by the member for Saint-Laurent were simply a reflection of the comments made by Quebec Community Groups Network, which told the Standing Committee on Official Languages that Bill 101 was a violation of civil rights and that the French language in Quebec is doing well.
If a small measure like knowledge of French for citizenship is once again rejected by the government of the English Canadian majority, it will be a sign to Quebeckers that living in French is not possible in Canada. They will have yet more proof that the only solution for the future of Quebec is independence.
Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON
Madam Speaker, in my opinion, the bill is short-sighted. Any language, culture or heritage can prosper, grow and progress only through promotion, not through imposition.
In my riding of Nepean, 120 languages are spoken. There is a very small number of francophones in my riding, from Cameroon, Burundi and Haiti. Though 120 languages are being spoken in my riding, the number of French schools is increasing. The demand for French schools is so big that it is exceeding capacity. This is not because French is being imposed. It is because the federal government promotes both official languages.
Most parents of children who go to French-speaking schools do not speak French. Like many newcomers to Canada, many new Canadians are multilingual. They are not very well versed in both official languages, but they have the desire for their children to learn both English and French. That is a fact of life here.
In Ottawa, the capital, there are no regulations or legislation that mandate bilingualism. However, because Canada has both English and French as official languages, we promote both languages in Ottawa.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
The time provided for the consideration of Private Members' Business has now expired and the order is dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence on the Order Paper.
A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.
Jenica Atwin Green Fredericton, NB
Madam Speaker, I am raising an issue today in our adjournment proceedings that I originally raised on November 2 during question period. I am thankful for the opportunity to address something I know Canadians take great pride in, which is the fact that we are a terre d'accueil, and that immigration is a Canadian tradition.
Let us not forget that most of us are immigrants on this land, and that through the years, multiculturalism has become one of our shared values as a nation. It contributes directly to the enrichment and growth of our communities from coast to coast to coast.
Throughout all of human history, people have been on the move. Many migrate out of necessity to escape persecution or devastation. Others migrate out of choice in search of economic opportunities in the hope of a better future for them and their families.
Last month, the minister announced the ambitious immigration levels plan for 2021-23, envisioning the highest levels of immigration in Canada’s history. This plan focuses on welcoming the majority of immigrants under economic class programs.
Of course, the emphasis on economic migration is nothing new. Economic growth, demographic considerations and labour market needs have defined Canada's immigration policies for many decades now. However, is this approach working?
The intense focus on economic class immigration pathways implicitly ignores and undervalues the economic contribution made by newcomers to Canada from other immigration classes and ignores the many other ways these individuals bring value to our communities.
Canadians take pride in our hospitality and support immigration for its positive economic benefits and for the benefits of multiculturalism. Newcomers make numerous cultural, social and interpersonal contributions, in addition to or in lieu of economic ones.
I asked the minister whether he felt that a 4.4% target for francophone immigration outside Quebec was adequate to have an impact on the vitality of official languages, because I suspect that it is not. When we talk about the vitality of something other than the economy when it comes to immigration, why do we always make such insignificant commitments?
During the last months, as our borders were closed for the first time in generations, we were forced to realize how dependent we are on the contributions of newcomers to Canada from all around the world to make our communities work. “Essential workers” became a household term, referring largely to the marginalized, underpaid caregiving and food production workers.
Immigrants and newcomers are at the core of these sectors and they face many hardships and barriers. Temporary migrant workers, essential to maintain our food security, lack services, legal protections and easy pathways to immigration. The immigrant women who work in the long-term care sector put their own health at risk to provide care to elders while waiting interminably for their immigration applications to be processed. As months go by, more and more of them are living on implied status waiting for a work visa renewal, exempting them from receiving provincial medicare coverage in a pandemic.
The nurses in my home province were deliberately recruited for their skills and are still not able to have their expertise recognized. We promised them a bright future only to abandon them once they were here to face underemployment or unemployment.
Today, I want to ask the parliamentary secretary if we care whether or not a newcomer will be able to contribute to our society at a human level. Do we care if they will have the community support necessary to ensure their personal success and well-being? Are we trading our humanity in the name of economic growth?
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
I just want to remind members that if they want to have conversations, they should leave the chamber because there are proceedings happening right now. It does interfere in the interpretation and in the hon. member's ability to proceed correctly.
The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
Soraya Martinez Ferrada LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration
Madam Speaker, allow me to answer the hon. member for Fredericton's question.
As members may know, November 1 to 7, 2020, was National Francophone Immigration Week, an opportunity to recognize the contributions of francophone newcomers and draw attention to the vitality of francophone communities outside Quebec.
The government firmly believes that all newcomers, including francophone immigrants, contribute to Canada's vitality. As a result, we must create welcoming and inclusive communities for francophone newcomers and provide them with customized support in a timely manner so that they integrate into and build ties with these communities.
To demonstrate the government's commitment to attracting francophone newcomers to Canada, on October 27, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced that francophone and bilingual candidates would receive extra points in Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada's express entry program, the department's online system for managing the applications of qualified workers who want to become permanent residents.
Applicants to the express entry program receive points for various factors, and this change will increase the number of points awarded from 15 to 25 for francophone candidates and from 30 to 50 for bilingual candidates. We believe that awarding additional points to francophone and bilingual candidates in the express entry program will increase the admission of francophones. I am also convinced that this will help the government reach its target of 4.4% French-speaking immigrant admissions outside Quebec by 2023.
Progress towards meeting this target will also depend on travel restrictions during the pandemic. However, I think this is something we can do in the long term to increase the admission of francophones and support francophone minority communities. I am not alone in thinking that this measure is a concrete means of achieving that.
Last Friday, when we announced our 2021-23 immigration levels plan, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, or FCFA, called our initiative “a tangible step forward for francophone immigration”. Following this announcement, its president also stated, “What is clear is that the minister takes francophone immigration seriously and is taking concrete action.” This change is in addition to other initiatives and priorities of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Government of Canada to promote inclusion and bolster the diversity of Canada's communities.
For example, as part of the official languages action plan, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is investing more than $40 million over five years to support a consolidated francophone integration pathway and the development of coordinated policies. This approach is part of our francophone immigration strategy, which includes initiatives to boost francophone immigration, support the integration and retention of francophone newcomers and enhance the vitality of francophone communities.
Alongside the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada pandemic response initiatives, some organizations that provide settlement and integration services in Canada have adapted their services to the realities of COVID-19. For example, the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité is working with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to organize a virtual fair this December to educate employers about recruiting francophone immigrants and how they can help businesses grow.
I am proud of the measures that Canada has been taking to attract francophone immigrants, and despite the pandemic, I remain confident that francophone minority communities in Canada will continue to attract and welcome newcomers and help them integrate.
Jenica Atwin Green Fredericton, NB
Madam Speaker, Canada's preoccupation with the pursuit of economic growth is happening at the expense of the well-being of newcomers and their families, and the vitality of our communities. Immigrant-serving agencies across New Brunswick are currently working with over 1,800 immigrants who are either under-employed or unemployed as a result of the pandemic. However, the agencies lack the necessary resources and personnel to support these individuals to resume employment and regain the security that we all need to feel at home.
New Brunswick also has a retention problem. Newcomers arrive through the Atlantic immigration pilot project, do their time and then head to larger cities where they can connect with people from their home countries. We are wasting an opportunity to help them create a sense of home in New Brunswick. All communities are built on the interweaving of the lives of their residents. If those people are healthy, happy and connected, the community will thrive.
When we measure people exclusively in dollars and cents, we are not seeing them for the full value they can provide and we are not setting them up for personal success. What if, instead of spinning our wheels on economic immigration, we enable the newcomers already in Canada to bring their families here more easily? What if we made progress on recognizing the foreign credentials of their spouses? What if we streamlined our processes so that it did not take immigrants years to become recognized as a permanent resident, with the security that provides?
If we gave people those tools, perhaps we would have greater success in retaining them.
Soraya Martinez Ferrada Liberal Hochelaga, QC
Madam Speaker, the government believes that all newcomers, including francophone immigrants, contribute to Canada's vitality. To attract francophone newcomers, the minister announced on October 27 that French-speaking and bilingual candidates will receive additional points under the express entry system. The change will see the current number of points increase from 15 to 25 for French-speaking candidates and from 30 to 50 for bilingual candidates. This change will help deliver on the government’s commitment to reach the target of 4.4% French-speaking immigrant admissions outside Quebec by 2023. It complements other initiatives to promote francophone immigration outside Quebec and enhance the diversity of communities in Canada.
Paul Manly Green Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Madam Speaker, since being elected to this House a year and a half ago, I have repeatedly asked the transport minister and Transport Canada to address the pollution, noise and environmental damage caused by the interim protocol freighter anchorages in the Southern Gulf Islands.
The minister knows what the problem is. I want to talk about solutions to solve the inefficiencies at the Port of Vancouver. Container shipments from that port are highly efficient. Bulk freighters should be as well. There are busy ports in other countries where this problem is non-existent.
For years, the Port of Newcastle in Australia had the same problem. In 2007, on some days, there were reports of as many as 70 freighters anchored outside the port waiting to load. In June of that year, a ship dragged anchor and ran aground on a popular beach. The public outcry following that incident led to a review of the situation, and the Port of Newcastle no longer has a freighter anchorage problem.
It implemented a vessel arrival system. Ships must contact the port 14 days before they arrive. They can be instructed to slow down in order to match their arrival to their loading time at the port. The Port of Newcastle went from ships being at anchor for an average of 11 days to 64% of ships not anchoring at all. The remaining 36% averaged just three days at anchor.
Rotterdam, the biggest port in Europe, does not have an anchorage problem. It has a just-in-time system. Ships are contacted in advance and instructed to travel at slower speeds to arrive when there is space for them to port. Slower transit times not only reduce greenhouse emissions because the ships burn less bunker fuel, they also lower pollution near the port and populated areas.
Currently, the Port of Vancouver does not mandate contact from ships until they are two days away from the port. By that time, it is too late to change their arrival time. Once a ship with a contract to load goods arrives in Canadian waters, anchorages must be provided.
One piece of the freighter traffic problem is the increase in shipments of U.S. thermal coal through the Port of Vancouver. Washington, Oregon and California refused to expand their coal ports, so U.S. coal companies are shipping through Canada. This needs to end.
Thermal coal is burned to produce electricity. Here in Canada, we are shutting down coal-fired power plants. We recognize they have no place in our energy future. If the government is serious about climate action, it should ban the export of both Canadian and U.S. thermal coal.
Canadian grain shipments from the Port of Vancouver have grown by 6% per year. Inefficiencies in the grain supply and the inability to load grain in rainy weather are resulting in ships sitting at anchor for extended periods. It should interest many members of the House that costs associated with these delays at the Port of Vancouver are partially passed on to Canadian grain farmers. Farmers pay for these inefficiencies through the shipping component of their contracts, which is subtracted from the price of their grain. I hope this will motivate cross-party and cross-country collaboration to lobby the government to mandate improvements at the Port of Vancouver.
The creation of good regulations and policy will drive innovation, as it has in Australia and Europe. There is no legitimate reason why the Port of Vancouver should be so far behind in efficient management of its bulk shipping.
Chris Bittle LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith for the opportunity to further discuss this issue. As a trading nation, the marine transportation system is key to Canada's continued economic and social well-being, and anchorages are an integral part of safe navigation.
Transport Canada recognizes that anchorage use at the Port of Vancouver, Canada's largest port, and in the southern Gulf Islands has been steadily increasing over the past decade. The general trend in anchoring time in southern British Columbia has been increasing by about 4% each year since 2011. This is largely due to trade growth through Canada's Asia-Pacific gateway and to record export volumes of Canadian natural resources.
With this steady growth and vessel activity, there has been a rise in concerns and frustrations from indigenous groups and coastal communities in the region. Transport Canada has heard concerns about noise and lights from vessels at anchor, as well as broader socio-environmental concerns and implications for indigenous fish harvesting and cultural activities.
Transport Canada is aware that the incidents cited by the hon. member, involving freighters dragging anchor, are very real examples that demonstrate the need for action and greater efficiencies in the marine transportation system. This is why Transport Canada is examining the anchorage issue under the oceans protection plan. It is a complex issue.
As part of the ongoing work, Transport Canada has conducted analysis on anchorage congestion and usage, and the results clearly indicate multiple factors are contributing to the dynamic we observe in southern British Columbia. These factors include supply chain disruptions, weather and operations, as well as the growing demand in Asia I cited earlier, which has led to an increase in exports of commodities through the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.
Factors such as these can have cascading effects on supply chain performance, which lead to coordination challenges and ultimately result in vessel congestion and increased anchorage use and transits. Under the oceans protection plan, Canada is taking a multipronged approach aimed at mitigating the impacts of vessels at anchor. It is doing so by exploring ways to reduce anchorage use and transit by commercial vessels, as well as to change the behaviour of vessels while they are at anchor.
Supporting active traffic management measures to promote gateway fluidity include collaborative supply chain visibility efforts and taking indigenous and socio-environmental considerations into account, with a view to reducing the impacts of anchorages on local communities.
As Transport Canada works to develop solutions to anchorage management in the southern Gulf Islands, a range of information from indigenous and local communities, industry and supply chain actors is being considered carefully. In addition, Transport Canada is examining the legal, operational and commercial considerations that bear on anchorage practices and management.
At present, Transport Canada's goal is to not only address anchorage congestion but also look toward new effective efficiencies to promote greater fluidity while maintaining navigational safety. As work continues on this complex issue, concrete actions are being taken today to address the situation.
Examples include the interim protocol that serves to promote a more balanced approach to anchorage in the southern Gulf Islands, as well as joint efforts with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority under the supply chain visibility project. This project is working to improve the efficiency of the multimodal transportation network, enhance transportation infrastructure safety and approve and optimize the connectivity of intermodal efficiencies.
Paul Manly Green Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Madam Speaker, the oceans protection plan's national anchorage strategy has been in place for three years and the problem has only gotten worse. Environmental and cost considerations should be enough motivation to fix this situation. It is not acceptable to wait for another collision, the beaching of a vessel or a fuel spill to take action.
The solutions exist and will improve environmental conditions, reduce disruptions to communities and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Implementing solutions will also result in more money in the pockets of prairie grain farmers. It is time for Transport Canada to mandate efficiencies at the Port of Vancouver.
Strong regulations that ensure peak coordination between exporters and shipping companies are the solution required to address the root causes of the freighter anchorage problem in the southern Gulf Islands.
Chris Bittle Liberal St. Catharines, ON
Madam Speaker, Canada's strong marine safety system has improved significantly over the last 25 years and continues to improve through the oceans protection plan. We are committed to the continuous improvement of this system.
To respond to community concerns about anchorages, an interim protocol on the use of southern British Columbia anchorage was introduced in 2018. The protocol puts in place measures to reduce the impacts of large vessels at anchor outside port authorities and remains in effect. Thanks to this work, residents can now contact the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority operations centre when they have concerns about noise and lights from vessels at anchor and provide details by completing an online form. Transport Canada officials continue to work closely with the port on this matter to help ensure concerns are addressed.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).
(The House adjourned at 6:52 p.m.)