Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I would like to begin by acknowledging that I join today's meeting from the traditional unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. With regard to the study currently under way, I am pleased to tell you more about one of the seven measures proposed through the Action Plan on Official Languages 2023-28, namely the creation of the Centre for Innovation in Francophone Immigration in Dieppe, New Brunswick, including the implementation of a new grants and contributions program to support francophone immigration.

Official Languages committee  Yes, I totally agree with that. A better knowledge of labour needs will facilitate the way we target our recruitment efforts, for example. It'll allow us to know where we need to make efforts to fine-tune the selection process. I'm also thinking of ways to match the needs of communities and employers with those of international applicants who have already begun the process of determining where they want to settle.

Official Languages committee  First, the process can certainly be improved. It involves a number of players, and co-operation is essential. Many efforts have been made to improve this. I'm thinking in particular of the efforts that have been made to build bridges with the communities themselves and to ensure that the work corresponds to their needs.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Jacques, would you like to answer this question?

Official Languages committee  The committee has already done a lot of work, particularly with Bill C-13. The requirements are quite clear. The work ahead of us certainly concerns IRCC. Despite all the progress of the last few years, it's true that there's still a lot of work to do. However, all this work involves many other players and many other federal partners.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Jacques, do you want to answer that question?

Official Languages committee  Yes, such data exists, but I don't have it. I know that data on interprovincial mobility is more difficult to obtain, but we do have data that provides good indications on retention. We could provide that to you.

Official Languages committee  In accordance with the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec is in charge of the selection process. In my opinion, just like the federal government, the Quebec government can put forward facilitating measures. I don't have the details of the article we are talking about.

Official Languages committee  In the policy being developed, we're doing the groundwork to ensure that the department will comply with the new requirements set out in Bill C-13, which commits the department to developing the necessary measures to ensure that the demographic weight of francophones is restored and that the way is paved for growth.

Official Languages committee  I beg your pardon. I misunderstood the last sentence of your question.

Official Languages committee  Essentially, we're in the process of developing a policy that will provide a framework for all measures and give teeth to the 2019 francophone immigration strategy that I referred to. It's about making sure that it's consistent with the commitments in Bill C-13 and that we can develop measures.

Official Languages committee  We talked briefly about promotional activities. All of our settlement and integration efforts are aimed at ensuring that there are poles of attraction, that the host communities are well prepared and that the conditions are in place to ensure the success of newcomers. A great deal of progress has been made since the implementation of the francophone immigration strategy.

Official Languages committee  As far as francophone immigration to Quebec is concerned, for us, the framework remains the Canada-Quebec Accord.

Official Languages committee  The accord provides a framework for co-operation between the federal department and its Quebec counterpart. This co-operation is excellent, and there have been discussions about the risk you mentioned. We must remember that we are dealing with the international Francophonie. We are talking about a pool of 350 million people.

Official Languages committee  Mathematically, you're right. We target the same clientele. However, it seems that the planet is sufficient for the different levels of government. It's an ongoing dialogue.