Official Languages committee  Do I only have 40 seconds? We absolutely have to promote promotion. Promotion is the starting point. In our opinion, if we want our measures to be far-reaching, it's important to increase the number of admissions.

Official Languages committee  If we want to increase our pool of francophones, we must promote Canada as a destination of choice. We must first have applicants, and then go out and find candidates.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, members of the committee. I'd like to begin by acknowledging that I join today's meeting from the traditional unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people. Immigration plays a key role in supporting Canada's immediate economic needs, reversing our longer-term downward demographic trends, sustaining our official languages, and continuing to support humanitarian needs as part of the global community.

Official Languages committee  The matter has been checked with Statistics Canada. The 1971 census, the first census conducted after the enactment of the Official Languages Act and also the first to collect data on the use of official languages, indicates that at that time the demographic weight of official language minority communities was 6.1% in Canada.

Official Languages committee  Yes, exactly.

Official Languages committee  It refers to the first official language spoken.

Official Languages committee  Indeed, it would be more in line with reality.

Official Languages committee  The 4.4% target was indeed reached this year: the department was able to surpass 4.42%. That is the first step, but there is still a lot of work to do. Discussions are ongoing within the department. We are looking at the projections to set the target for 2024. We also have a working group which is partnering with the communities to develop a policy setting out all the objectives and principles, including the target for demographic weight.

Official Languages committee  It's important to understand that by using the word “restoring”, the bill includes an obligation of result. This is an area of shared jurisdiction, where the provinces and territories also have a significant contribution to make. When it comes to admission levels, the provinces are obviously key partners.

Official Languages committee  It is indeed a nuance. The French term “assurer”, or “ensure” in English, implies that the Government of Canada would have an obligation to ensure certain results in an area of shared jurisdiction. The provinces play a fundamental role here, never mind the fact that the success of francophone immigration depends on a multitude of factors.

Official Languages committee  Good afternoon. I'm Alain Desruisseaux, the director general of Francophone Immigration, at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. I'm responsible for all aspects of the department's strategic frameworks and broad policy frameworks for francophone immigration and for working in partnership with all our partners within the government, since this is a horizontal commitment that involves all departments.