Official Languages committee  The Passeport entrepreneurial Canada project involves four activities, including the liaison tour, which facilitates international recruitment to mobilize francophone and anglophone employers in order to demonstrate the possibility of recruiting bilingual employees. You were talking about remote regions.

Official Languages committee  At the moment, no, but I know that some countries will not let us recruit on site, such as Algeria, for example. Elsewhere, we have not yet undertaken recruiting, given that the only recruitment event at the international level at present is really Destination Canada, which often takes place in Paris, Belgium or Morocco.

Official Languages committee  Thank you. When it was put in place, 25 years ago, we had a blank page. It had to be built up from nothing. A number of structuring models have been put in place. I am thinking, in particular, of all the employability services that did not exist before. They have evolved, growing from basic services to much more professionalized services for putting people in contact with employers.

Official Languages committee  Yes, certainly. In fact, we are in the process of doing a study in order to market these services and create services that could operate on a membership basis: services offered to businesses that they could pay for afterward. We are in the process of showing all that for the tourism industry.

Official Languages committee  Certainly there are labour shortages. However, there are also targeted recruitment initiatives, such as the one Mr. Plante was talking about. Destination Manitoba is a great example of collaboration between Manitoba and Côte d'Ivoire that enables the province to recruit francophone early childhood workers.

Official Languages committee  Yes, all members of RDEE Canada have responsibility for working on employability. For example, our member in Alberta is in the process of merging with Accès Emploi, which is the employability agency in Alberta. Today, we are fortunate to be able to say that everywhere in Canada, outside Quebec, our networks and Accès Emploi have been working on employability of francophone immigrants for several years.

Official Languages committee  Regarding the reception at Pearson Airport, you have to understand that the role of the Centre francophone du Grand Toronto is to give francophone immigrants arriving via that airport the information they need. The immigrants receive a leaflet where they can see the various services offered in all provinces and territories.

Official Languages committee  Canada attracts a lot of people. It doesn't need to promote itself to attract French-speaking immigrants. You only have to go to Africa to realize that many people want to leave their country to come to Canada. It's more a question of attracting the people we want. Let's not forget that, at its core, the immigration system serves economic purposes.

Official Languages committee  One example that has just been implemented is the results-based system. With its Express Entry programs, the government has just put in place a system that will recruit people with the skills Canada needs. In the countries where Canada promotes itself, we also need to inform people about our labour needs.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Samson. It's a pleasure to talk to you again. This new investment is very timely and will help us a great deal with international recruitment. I believe there's a $25‑million fund over five years dedicated to this. As I was saying, we want to put in place a targeted recruitment strategy, targeting countries where there are candidates with the skills Canada needs, to meet the labour needs of employers in every province.

Official Languages committee  I'm going to answer from the angle of economic integration, because that's my field of expertise. The services we offer are basic. We help immigrants write a résumé, for example, when they need something else. I spoke to you about the different challenges of integration. We're talking about recognition of prior learning and job search, among other things.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Ladies and gentlemen of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, thank you very much for this opportunity to speak to you about the recruitment and economic integration of French-speaking immigrants. For over 10 years, the members of RDÉE Canada, as well as its network in nine provinces and three territories, have been working closely with Canadian employers, both francophone and non-francophone, raising awareness, mobilizing and supporting them in recruiting and integrating the talents and skills of French-speaking immigrants.