6. Integration

Economic integration

Professional challenges are one of the biggest issues encountered by immigrants. In the case of employment,⁵⁴ there is a wage gap between immigrants and people born in Canada that cannot be explained by individual characteristics. This is even more pronounced among recent immigrants. There are also differences in employment rates. This information should be analyzed seriously and the situation of Francophone immigrants should be better understood in order to further adapt the employability services intended for them.

Another challenge is the recognition of qualifications earned abroad, especially in areas like health, governed by professional associations. “These challenges are even greater for Francophone immigrants. The obvious objective of those regulatory bodies is to protect the quality and excellence of the services offered by the members of the profession. Their general mandate is not to make it easier to practice their trades. It is rather the opposite”.⁵⁵

On this subject, the Adam Report⁵⁶ stresses that the creation of a new university for French-speaking Ontario in Toronto is a good opportunity to develop new services for the recognition of professional skills acquired abroad.

Sociocultural integration

Professional integration does not automatically lead to integration within the Francophone community, but is rather a prerequisite. When an individual feels that they are a full member of the community, it is more likely that they will settle into that community for the long term.⁵⁷

The most recent studies on the subject of sociocultural integration show that the presence of Francophone organizations offering such services in French allows for better social inclusion of immigrants within Francophone minority communities than would translated or bilingual services offered through English organizations.⁵⁸ It therefore seems like a path to follow. The former Ministry already funds around 20 French-language service providers through its Multicultural Community Capacity Grant Program.⁵⁹

Along the same lines, social integration is often a crucial part of successful integration. It is therefore the entirety of the “institutional completeness” of Francophone communities that is at stake when it comes to settlement. Awareness of the issues of multiculturalism within communities and across all community systems must be encouraged.