(Ottawa) The federal Minister of Immigration, Sean Fraser, considers it “essential” to increase the number of French-speaking immigrants who come to settle in Canada. It is, according to him, the maintenance of “social cohesion” in the country while the Trudeau government has set itself the objective of welcoming 500,000 immigrants per year from 2025.
Mr. Fraser is thus responding favorably to the request of the Legault government to revise upwards the target of 4.4% of French-speaking immigrants who settle outside Quebec in order to counter the decline of French in the country. The Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities (FCFA) is also calling for a more ambitious target.
But before announcing new targets, Minister Fraser said he wanted to give himself the tools to reach those of 2022 and 2023. Especially since the federal government has not succeeded in reaching its targets for Francophone immigration. in the past.
“I want to increase the number of French-speaking newcomers outside Quebec. It is very important to protect and promote the French language and French culture. It is part of the Canadian identity. It is also essential if we want to continue to increase the number of new arrivals in general. It is a good thing for our country. But it’s impossible for me to maintain social cohesion if I don’t increase the number of French-speaking newcomers as well,” said Minister Fraser.
The minister, who answered all of the journalists’ questions in very acceptable French after testifying for more than an hour before the House of Commons official languages committee, said he wanted to work with Quebec and the other provinces to support francophone immigration.
Mr. Fraser specified that he wanted to establish the new targets after consulting the country’s Francophone associations. He added that if the trend continues, the federal government could exceed the Francophone immigration target this year.
“I have to demonstrate that we can successfully reach the 4.4% target this year. But I have confidence that we will welcome more than 4.4% next year and it will continue to increase after that,” he said.
He said that starting in the spring of 2023, Ottawa will add to the “Express Entry” system, which allows skilled workers to immigrate quickly to Canada, additional points for French-speaking applicants and those who can speak French. . “This will give me the flexibility in the short term to further increase the number of French-speaking arrivals,” he said.
He explained that Ottawa relies in particular on the office in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to promote Francophone immigration from Central and West Africa. At home, the Trudeau government recently inaugurated the new Francophone Immigration Innovation Center in Dieppe, New Brunswick, which is to contribute “to the efforts necessary to maintain and grow the population of Francophone communities in Atlantic Canada and across the entire “.
“Moral obligation”
In an interview with The Press, Friday, the Quebec Minister responsible for Canadian Relations and the Canadian Francophonie, Jean-François Roberge, said he found the federal government’s current target for Francophone immigration to be downright insufficient. He invited Ottawa to redo its homework by setting “a repair threshold” of 12% to 20% of French-speaking immigrants to make up for the delay of past years.
“The 4% target is too low. It’s been too low for too long. And on top of that, the federal government is failing to hit a target that’s too low. This means that it has accumulated a delay over the years. He has a moral obligation to catch up,” said Mr. Roberge.
Reaching the 4% target, no one is going to be satisfied with that. Quebec will not be satisfied if the federal government reaches its insufficient target. It’s a bad target. Hitting the wrong target is still failing.
Jean-François Roberge, Minister responsible for Canadian Relations and the Canadian Francophonie
In front of journalists, Mr. Fraser presented himself as an ally of the Government of Quebec and Francophone communities in a minority setting, affirming that French is one of the essential traits that distinguishes Canada from other countries, particularly the United States.
“I am an English speaker. When I started in politics [en 2015], I did not speak French. But when I was a child, I was very proud of the fact that Canada is a bilingual country. With our two official languages, we are different from other countries in North America. And I like the Montreal Canadiens. Our diversity is a strength for our country. It is an economic advantage. It’s a social benefit,” he said.