Report on Francophone immigration: the commissionner calls for a concrete action plan

TORONTO, November 23, 2016 – François Boileau, the French Language Services Commissioner, believes that the report of the Group of Experts on Francophone Immigration released yesterday by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration opens the door to developing and implementing concrete solutions for achieving the five per cent target set by Ontario for Francophone immigration by 2020.

The publication of the report is a first step in the right direction and speaks to the province’s leadership on the subject of Francophone immigration. The Commissioner is calling on the Ministry to accept the report’s recommendations and commit to putting them into concrete action.

“I congratulate the government for releasing the report of the Group of Experts on Francophone Immigration and I thank the members of the Group. It is now time for the Ministry to adopt an action plan with clear objectives and specific timelines. The Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration has to take the lead on this and deploy an integrated interministerial strategy that corresponds to the continuum of initiatives to be taken” Commissioner Boileau said.

Not only does the collaboration of several other ministries need to be ensured, but it will also be crucial for Ontario to secure specific commitments from the federal government in this field of shared jurisdiction. It is therefore essential for the two levels of government to take concerted action to maximize their efforts to promote Francophone immigration and recruit, settle and integrate Francophone newcomers.

The Commissioner recognizes that implementation of the report will take place over several years. He therefore recommends that the Ministry create a permanent advisory committee on Francophone immigration to guide it throughout that process.

Quick Facts

• The Group of Experts on Francophone Immigration was established by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration with the goal of developing a plan to increase Francophone immigration to Ontario, following the Commissioner’s recommendation.
• The report contains 13 recommendations relating to five topics: promotion, recruitment, selection, settlement and integration. It also recommends that there be a duty to account periodically for the results achieved.
• The provincial government adopted the five per cent target in 2012 and still has a long way to go before it is achieved. For example, in 2014, only 2.2 per cent of the immigrant population had French as the official language spoken, according to government figures.

The Office of the French Language Services Commissioner reports directly to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Its principal mandate is to ensure compliance with the French Language Services Act in the delivery of government services.

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FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Consult the report of the Group of Experts on Francophone Immigration.