Immigration
The Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada and Ontario’s French Language Services Commissioner issued in November 2014 a joint report titled “Time to Act for the Future of Francophone Communities: Redressing the Immigration Imbalance”17 highlighting the need for the federal and provincial governments to include a Francophone perspective in their immigration policies and programs. This follows the news release of the two commissioners proposing four guiding principles.
Many prospective French-speaking immigrants know little about the linguistic situation in Canada, incorrectly believing that the country is completely bilingual. They either know little about the options available to them in the provinces and territories outside Quebec or are unaware that there are Francophone communities in those regions. Many stakeholders have affirmed that continuing efforts must be made to promote Francophone communities and the benefits they have to offer to prospective immigrants and to employers needing to recruit foreign workers.18 Prospective immigrants also have to know about the prevailing realities in Canada’s different regions.
When they arrive, newcomers are sometimes referred to English or bilingual settlement services that know little or nothing about Francophone communities and institutions.19 Stakeholders also point to the uneven nature of services provided by bilingual organizations.
Newcomers’ unfamiliarity with services available in French or the presence of Francophone communities and institutions in their new region is often cited as a challenge.
Several Francophone community representatives, including the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada and the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario,20 said it is important for services and support (including language training) for French-speaking newcomers to be provided in an integrated fashion by Francophone institutions and communities at each stage in the immigrant experience. This means services by and for Francophones. The belief is that meaningful ties between newcomers and Francophone communities will be established when services and education are provided by Francophone institutions.
[TRANSLATION] “After staying in Quebec briefly, my family and I decided to move to Ottawa to improve our chances of finding work. I took a language test at a community centre so I could enrol in an integration program for newcomers. When the officers at the centre discovered that I speak French, they strongly suggested that I take the integration program in English. I told them that I wanted to integrate first in a language that I understood before tackling English. To me, English was an asset and a means of communication for employment purposes, not a settlement language. In the end, I took a program in French, and it helped me capitalize on my foreign credentials and experience. I was subsequently able to find a job.”
Apollinaire Yengayenge, newcomer who settled in Ottawa
Many Francophone communities are located in rural areas or in small centres that are grappling with a generalized population exodus. Given that many immigrants prefer to settle in large urban centres, owing to the presence of services and cultural communities or for economic reasons, it is more difficult for these Francophone communities to attract and retain newcomers. In these regions, newcomers also have to be able to find jobs. As researcher Chedly Belkhodja put it, “in rural contexts, there has to be an economic attraction, an employer, something.”21
For most immigrants, be they Francophones or Anglophones, labour market access and integration are significant challenges. The importance of English is an added challenge, because that language predominates in the workplace.
These challenges are compounded by other difficulties, such as a lack of resources and a lack of data on immigrant pathways; immigrant mobility, which can be affected by a number of factors, including employment; the impact that this mobility has on service delivery; recognition of foreign credentials; and socioeconomic issues, such as poverty.
The Commissioner’s report presents an overview and analysis of the issues surrounding immigration to Francophone communities. The goal was not to present a comprehensive account, but to highlight some of the main challenges. The report examines, among other things, the work that has been done by key players, including the federal government, the Ontario government and the communities, and notes some of the obstacles that Francophone newcomers face during their settlement process.
17. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada and Office of the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario, supra note 4.
18. Evidence presented by Marie-France Kenny and Suzanne Bossé, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, to the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages, March 3, 2014, Issue 4, pp. 4:26–4:41. Available online: www.parl.gc.ca/content/sen/committee/412/OLLO/04EV-51239-E.HTM (page consulted in May 2015).
19. Evidence presented by Nicole Gallant, INRS, to the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages, April 28, 2014, Issue 6, pp. 6:3–6:38. Available online: www.parl.gc.ca/content/sen/committee/412/OLLO/06EV-51355-E.HTM (page consulted in May 2015).
20. Evidence presented by Denis Vaillancourt, Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario, to the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages, June 2, 2014, Issue 7, pp. 7:33–7:66. Available online: www.parl.gc.ca/content/sen/committee/412/OLLO/07EV-51481-e.HTM (page consulted in May 2015).
21. Evidence presented by Chedly Belkhodja, Concordia University, to the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages, March 31, 2014, Issue 5, p. 5:25. Available online: www.parl.gc.ca/content/sen/committee/412/OLLO/05EV-51292-e.HTM (page consulted in May 2015).