The new French-speaking immigration targets are “not enough [es] », Warns the Standing Committee on Official Languages, which recommends that Ottawa raise its objectives without encroaching on those of Quebec.
In order to “rebalance the demographic weight of Francophones in Canada”, the federal Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, must “recognize [tre] that the current rate of French-speaking immigration, set respectively for the years 2024, 2025 and 2026 at 6%, 7% and 8% is not sufficient,” we can read in a report tabled in the House on Thursday.
The Committee believes instead that the federal government should comply with the demands of the Fédération des Communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA) du Canada by increasing “its rate to 12% in 2024” and by “gradually reaching a rate of 20% in 2036” .
Since the modernization of the Official Languages Act in June 2023, the federal government has committed to restoring the demographic weight of French-speaking minority communities to what it was in 1971, i.e. 6.1%.
Last November, Minister Miller said he was “ambitious” in announcing his new targets, given that Ottawa reached for the first time in 2022, “with pain and misery”, its French-speaking immigration target, set to 4.4% in 2003. “A target of 6% keeps us in decline. At 8%, we are more or less in stability, but certainly not in growth,” reacted the president of the FCFA, Liane Roy.
At the time of writing, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) had not responded to questions from Duty. The federal government must, however, respond to the report’s recommendations within 120 days of its presentation, as provided for in the rules of the House of Commons.
Better serving French-speaking Africa
The Committee also recommends that IRCC seek “solutions to the fraud problems plaguing source countries of French-speaking immigration”, particularly in Africa, where “scammers […] pose as legitimate recruitment agents.
The “fraud in the acceptance letters from Canadian establishments and in the banking documents sent” are, with “the difficulty of knowing whether the students […] are actually going to study in Canada” and personal finances, the “three main reasons for refusal” of study permits, according to IRCC.
Lawyer Roger Pichette, who was heard by the Committee, pleads for “causes of refusal [soient] more descriptive and detailed. The director of Accueil francophone du Manitoba, Bintou Sacko, speaks of “arbitrary refusals” and “systematic rejections”.
The “acceptance rate of study permits granted to French-speaking students from Africa […] is generally lower than elsewhere,” recognizes IRCC in the report, while asserting that it has taken “certain measures” to remedy this.
Harm Quebec targets
The former director of planning for the Quebec Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Anne-Michèle Meggs, believes that Ottawa’s measures aimed at increasing French-speaking immigration outside Quebec “are harmful to achievement of Quebec’s objectives, despite » the sharing of powers between the two governments.
According to her, by not having capped the number of francophones eligible for the defunct temporary residence to permanent residence pathway program, Ottawa “could have encouraged francophones in Quebec to move outside the Quebec to present their application for permanent residence”, a phenomenon that “there is no need to encourage”.
Mme Meggs also judges that the federal government should adjust “the costs associated with obtaining permanent residence for candidates who choose Quebec”, because the files are already taken care of by the province, and that “the federal government has the sole work to check the health check and criminal record.”
The committee therefore recommends that the IRCC minister “continue to consult” his Quebec counterpart “on any initiative […] which could have effects on the objectives of the Quebec government regarding immigration.
Revise the French test
According to the report, the French Assessment Test for Canada, which may be required to access permanent residence, “represents an obstacle” to obtaining it.
Developed in France, it represents a level of difficulty that is too “high” for many candidates, and registration is “expensive,” witnesses reported. Furthermore, “a passing score is only valid for a period of two years, while the procedures to obtain permanent residence can be longer.”
“We must ask ourselves whether the tests meet the needs of those who must take them,” declared the Commissioner of Official Languages, Raymond Théberge, quoted in the report.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.