Official Languages committee  It's clear to us that an entirely new strategy is required. We can no longer aspire to more francophone immigration by trying to change a few criteria in a few programs. We need programs that are tailored to our communities. I think that all the parties now have the political wi

Official Languages committee  The demographic study shows that we would have to achieve 16% annually to meet the 4.4% target. That's what we'd need to restore the demographic weight of our francophone communities by 2030. We clearly need a much more ambitious policy backed by new resources. We can no longer

Official Languages committee  Piggybacking on Ms. Roy's remarks, the former roadmaps for official languages provided for funding to support communities that travelled overseas, that took part in Destination Canada, in Europe, the Middle East and various other regions of the world, and that funding was cancell

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, there is a problem. The refusal rates for postsecondary institutions in the Canadian francophonie are considerable. In closing, I have two recommendations. First, we must study the possibility of putting an end to the requirement to prove that candidates will return to th

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, we would agree with the creation of an ombudsperson position that could study certain cases, but also, certainly, the directives given to Canadian visa offices. This would be to ensure that there is no systemic discrimination against francophones and people from Africa.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Currently, student visas are not included in the 4.4% target, so a study would be needed to look at the refusal rate. However, it clearly doesn't help to achieve the target. But I would add that, last year, a new path from temporary residency to permanent residency opened up . S

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Unfortunately, I do not have those figures at hand today. Mr. Normand, do you have anything to add?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I do not have that information either.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The official reasons often given are that financial capability has not been demonstrated, and the requirement to return to one's country at the end of one's studies. Even our post-secondary institutions do not really have information on the reasons for these rejections. We propo

Citizenship and Immigration committee  To sum up, I believe that the global growth of the Francophonie will be centred mainly in Africa. Therefore, we must establish a consistent strategy that takes into account the Canadian government's francophone immigration policy and objectives. That has to include student visas

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The francophone immigration target of 4.4% was established in 2003. That was equivalent or close to the demographic weight of the francophone community in the 2001 census. It was a mistake to set the target at 4.4%. Last fall's report from the Commissioner of Official Languages

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely. Unfortunately, we have no promotion and recruitment strategy for French-speaking countries in general, but that's especially true for Africa. As I said in my opening remarks, we don't have the capacity. The Dakar office has to process visa applications from 15 or 16 c

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Madam Chair, honourable members, good afternoon. Thank you for inviting the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, the FCFA, to appear before the committee today. I am speaking to you from Ottawa, on the traditional unceded territory of the Anishinabe A

Official Languages committee  I think it is possible. It is our hope that a bill will be introduced before the end of the parliamentary session.