Official Languages committee  The answer to your second question is simple: expand pre-departure services and, in particular, include the economic aspect in the equation. If we want a more significant presence in francophone Africa and to attract more international francophones to Canada, we must reinforce pr

Official Languages committee  If we had a specific framework for measuring francophone immigration to Canada, it would help agencies and institutions that work in the sector more accurately measure changes in francophone immigration to Canada. That would help us conduct more thorough follow‑up on the subject.

Official Languages committee  Actually, this should be compared with the research project that Ms. Ashton previously noted on the specific labour needs of official language minority communities. Those needs overlap in some communities, and there are several thousands of unfilled jobs in various communities.

Official Languages committee  Exactly. It would result in a targeted approach that would directly meet the communities' needs and would be defined by and for the communities themselvs. You have to visualize this whole "by" and "for" approach as part of the equation in order to establish a separate program tha

Official Languages committee  Absolutely. There is growing interest in francophone minority education programs. Programs, such as immersion, that are mainly in French have been monitored for many years. That attests to an interest in understanding the Canadian situation and living in both official languages

Official Languages committee  The immediate answer is no. There isn't enough personnel to meet the demand. The report also indicates that this is a general finding. All regions of Canada have labour shortages in the nine sectors, including education, on which we relied to conduct the study. However, there is

Official Languages committee  Yes, I can answer it briefly. Ms. Ashton, you've raised a very good point about our consular presence in countries of interest to the Canadian francophonie. Unfortunately, Canada's presence in Africa isn't proportionate to the country's interest in the Canadian francophonie. Fu

Official Languages committee  I think every bill can be improved, regardless of its form. We think that, in its present form, Bill C‑13 should be amended to provide for a separate path for francophone economic immigration to official language minority communities. That opinion is shared not only by SEC and

Official Languages committee  I would create a special pathway for francophone immigration to minority communities and economic immigrants, those who have the skills sought after in the labour market across the country.

Official Languages committee  That's a very good question. First, to answer the questions regarding the labour force, there should be separate measures for francophone immigration to minority communities. That opinion is also shared by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne, the FCFA. That

Official Languages committee  For example, couldn't second-language learning programs be established for the people who already work there and might benefit from them? Many options are available to businesses seeking fair representation in both official languages in their operations. If that balance can't be

Official Languages committee  I'll be brief. In closing, I will say that we don't want to see the French fact "folklorized" in the medium term. On the contrary, we want to see it become a powerful driver of economic and community development in this country. That was the whole purpose of the national summit

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Members of the committee, distinguished guests, witnesses and members of the audience, good morning. Thank you for this opportunity to discuss Bill C‑13 with you today. With more than 430,000 francophone businesses in the country, representing