Speaking Notes - The Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, at the launch of the Strategic Plan to Foster Immigration to Francophone Minority Communities

Winnipeg, Manitoba, September 11, 2006

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Introduction

It is truly a pleasure to be here and to join my colleagues in launching our strategic plan to foster immigration to Francophone communities.

I can think of no better place to launch this plan, here where La Vérendrye expanded the French fur trade and established Fort Rouge. Where Louis Riel fought for rights of language and land. Where French and English explorers, traders and settlers had to learn to get along. To work together. To build and to prosper.

What we are talking about today is part of a long history in this province. More than that, it goes to the very roots of our country. We are a bilingual nation, and the history of our two languages and cultures is one of those things that define who we are as Canadians. It is something to be celebrated, but not taken for granted. It is something to be nourished and built upon.

As Manitobans know full well, our Francophone history is reflected across this country, not just in Quebec. But minority Francophone communities outside of Quebec face challenges in ensuring their language and culture continue to thrive and grow. We must meet those challenges. And immigration of French-speaking people to these communities has an important role to play.

Our country was built through immigration. And this strategic plan emphasizes the important role of immigration in strengthening Francophone minority communities across the land.

I sometimes think of people who immigrate to Canada as modern-day explorers. This is the best country in the world to live in, but it still takes a degree of courage to leave behind all that is familiar to come to Canada to explore the opportunity of a better future here.

It’s gotten a little easier since La Vérendrye paddled these rivers, but immigrants to our communities still face significant hurdles.

Just ask Bintou Sacko, who is here today. Bintou is from Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world. She came to Canada by herself in 1994 to study at the University of Saint-Boniface.

She can tell you of the difficulty of adjusting to a radically different culture and lifestyle. She probably also has something to say about Winnipeg winters, and how lonely it is to go through the first one while you’re still trying to build a network of friends.

However, she can also tell you about the people who helped her: her university professors, her religious community, the network she built doing volunteer work.

Now, 12 years after arriving here, Bintou is making a career of helping other Francophone immigrants. She is the coordinator for Accueil francophone, a group that provides an impressive number of services for Francophone immigrants. She’s become a part of this Francophone community. And she’s contributing to its future.

So I like to think this strategic plan takes a lesson from Bintou Sacko and the stories of many others like her.

A t its heart, the strategy has straightforward goals. First, we need to do a better job of integrating our Francophone immigrants into our minority Francophone communities and retaining them. That’s true for those who are already here and for the new immigrants we are striving to bring in.

Second, we need to work internationally to actively recruit new French-speaking immigrants to our Francophone minority communities.

To support the goal of integration and retention, the plan suggests a number of initiatives that we can look to bolstering. They range from initial welcome and information services and work-specific language training, to helping children adjust to school in their new country. In many cases, it means looking at services we already provide to ensure they are sensitive to the needs of new French-speaking immigrants, from access to health care to programs that support new entrepreneurs.

In the last budget, our new government announced $307 million for increased settlement services. That money has not been specifically dedicated, but I think it is fair to say that some of it will be used to support the types of initiatives outlined in the plan.

Clearly, as Bintou can attest, a broad, but organized network can make a substantial difference in integrating new immigrants. We need to work together on that.

Partnership is also critical in attracting new immigrants. The trick is to actively recruit people who are very likely to succeed. Their skills and employability, for example, are key factors. Manitoba already serves as an example of a province that knows how to identify the immigrants it needs and to bring them in through the Provincial Nominee Program. As Manitoba can attest, the provinces and communities are best placed to identify their needs.

Armed with the knowledge of what our Francophone minority communities need and are equipped to support, we can do more to recruit French-speaking immigrants to these communities.

This year, for example, we held promotion and recruitment events in France, Belgium and Morocco. We attracted over 1,200 people to these events. Manitoba, and other provinces, were key partners and it was a chance to promote immigration to our Francophone communities in a very targeted fashion. We can and should do more of this type of strategic recruitment.

The strategic plan sets a goal of increasing the number of French-speaking immigrants to Francophone communities outside of Quebec, from 3.1% of Canada’s overall immigration to 4.4% by 2008. Based on historical levels of immigration, that could represent between 8,000 and 10,000 French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec every year.

As we act on this plan, we are not only building strong Francophone communities, we are building a stronger Canada. It’s an important part of what my government is doing to strengthen our immigration system in a way that balances our economic, social and security needs.

I am proud of what we have accomplished in seven months. In addition to the increased settlement funding, we have:

• Ensured newcomers have more money in their pockets when they arrive here by reducing the Right of Permanent Residence Fee by half;
• helped victims of human trafficking by issuing them temporary resident visas and giving them access to health care while they recover from their ordeal;
• supported families by making it easier for parents who adopt from foreign countries to obtain citizenship for their children;
• made it possible for foreign students to work off-campus so that they can learn more about our country and our languages;
• committed $18 million to establish an agency to address the assessment and recognition of foreign credentials; and
• established temporary foreign worker units in several cities to address labour market shortages.

I know that much remains to be done — and this strategic plan is an important part of that building process.

In closing, I’d like to thank the steering committee for their hard work of pulling the strategic plan together. I hope you have found some time to rest over the summer, because I’m pleased to announce the extension of your mandate for another five years. As well, we will appoint an implementation committee to support your efforts.

I know you can count on my support and that of my colleagues, Minister Verner, Minister Allan and Minister Selinger.

Thank you.