Official Languages committee  As I said earlier, there are many reasons why a study permit for someone from Africa might be refused. We take allegations of unconscious prejudice very seriously. Decision-makers are given very specific training in order to be able to determine whether the presence of unconscious prejudices has influenced decisions.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for your question, Mr. Boulerice. I will get Ms. Kingsley to answer, so that she can provide more details about the refusal rates for certain countries and the reasons for them.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. The department takes all matters related to discrimination and racism very seriously. With respect to the review of study permit applications from Africa, some specially-designed training programs to combat racism and prejudice have been made available to decision-makers.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Ms. Kingsley. I'm hoping there will be lots of training. I'm going to pick up where my colleague Jacques Gourde left off. We rarely agree about anything, but I share his frustration and exasperation.

Official Languages committee  Thanks for the question Mr. Beaulieu. I'm going to ask Ms. Kingsley to answer.

Official Languages committee  The refusal rate for study permits fluctuates from year to year and from country to country, and it does this for several reasons.

Official Languages committee  I'd have to be able to consult the document in question. Every study permit application is assessed individually in accordance with the same criteria. I explained these three criteria earlier…

Official Languages committee  Thanks for the question, Mr. Beaulieu. I don't have the figures you're talking about in front of me at the moment, but I'd like to reiterate the fact that refusals and approvals fluctuate from year to year. Sometimes there is a higher approval rate at some universities compared to others, with the opposite occurring the following year.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Ms. Kingsley. In connection with Mr. Beaulieu's comments, I would add that if you have any documents, information or tables you could provide in response to our questions, please give them to the clerk, because after all, as a committee, we do expect to receive answers.

Official Languages committee  I'd like to return to discrimination against African immigrants and the abnormally high refusal rate for them. Ms. Kingsley, you have been focusing your discussion on three criteria, among others, but is there institutional prejudice in the software or the algorithm, or anything like that? Why is this happening for them, when it's not the case for other developing countries, whether in Asia or South America?

Official Languages committee  The applications of students from all countries around the world are very important to the department. I'm going to hand off to my colleague Ms. Kingsley, who will provide you with more details.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for that question, Mr. Chair. The acceptance rate for study permit applications varies widely from year to year and country to country. Sometimes we see discrepancies. Our analysis shows that the discrepancies have been quite minor to date, if you compare certain African countries.

Official Languages committee  Thanks to the member for his question. Yes, intention to leave the country at the end of the authorized stay is the third criterion. It's all right to have a dual intention, to apply for temporary residence and then permanent residence. However, there's no guarantee that permanent residence will be granted to a non-citizen seeking it.

Official Languages committee  Yes, the department has seen a slightly higher rate of refusal of applications from African students. I'm going to turn the floor over to my colleague Ms. Kingsley, who can provide a few more details.

Official Languages committee  Thanks to the member for his question on refusal rates associated with foreign students. First of all, I would repeat that foreign students are a priority for the department for many reasons…