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2005-08
TRANSFORMING PLANS INTO ACTION
PIER 21, HALIFAX, March 30, 2005 — The Honourable Joe Volpe,
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), launched Towards
Building a Canadian Francophonie of Tomorrow, a document that outlines
progress made on projects designed to attract, welcome and integrate
immigrants to Francophone Minority Communities outside Quebec. It also
includes plans for continued work in 2005 and 2006.
“Linguistic duality is a core value of Canadian society. Through
immigration, we want to help Francophone minority communities prosper
and grow. We have made a lot of progress over the last few years and
would like to thank all of our partners, particularly the Fédération
des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, for their
hard work in helping us move forward,” said Minister Volpe. “The
summary released today is a solid example of how we can reach our objectives
if we all work together.”
The initiatives described in the summary stem from the release of the
Strategic Framework to Foster Immigration to Francophone Minority
Communities, launched in November 2003 by the
CIC–Francophone Minority Communities Steering Committee. The Strategic
Framework is contained within the Government of Canada’s Action
Plan for Official Languages, launched in March 2003. The first objective
in this framework is to increase the number of French speaking immigrants
to 4.4% by 2008.
“I am happy to report that we have surpassed our goal. In 2001,
3.1% of immigrants outside Quebec spoke French. In 2004, this percentage
increased to 4.9%,” said the Honourable Mauril Belanger, Minister
responsible for Official Languages, who also attended today’s event. “Through
hard work and dedication, we hope that this percentage will continue
to rise each and every year. I am also looking forward to the release
of the Steering Committee’s five-year action plan which will further
support the development of Francophone minority communities in Canada.”
For more information on what CIC is doing to foster immigration to Francophone
minority communities and/or to learn more about the document released
today, please visit the “What’s New” section of Citizenship
and Immigration Canada’s Web site at www.cic.gc.ca
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For more information (media only):
Stephen Heckbert
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister
(613) 954-1064
Maria Iadinardi
Media Relations
Communications Branch
(613) 952-0740
Orli Namian
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Mauril Bélanger
(613) 299-6422
![line](/web/20061026000811im_/http://www.cic.gc.ca/images/common/rule.gif)
BACKGROUNDER
Immigration Helps Official Language
Minority Communities
Grow
Recent studies show that Francophone minority communities in Canada
have not benefited from immigration as much as Anglophone minority communities.
Since immigration is a major factor in Canada’s population growth,
both of our country’s linguistic communities should benefit equally.
The 2005 Budget reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to improve
the integration of immigrants to the Canadian labour market and society.
The Government of Canada is investing $298 million over five years for
settlement programming which will benefit all newcomers to Canada, including
newcomers who choose to settle in an Official Language minority community.
Reaching the Objectives of the Strategic Framework
In 2003, the CIC–Francophone Minority Communities Steering Committee
launched a Strategic Framework containing five objectives to gradually
receive more French-speaking newcomers over the next five years. The
five objectives are:
- Increase the number of French-speaking immigrants to Francophone
minority communities
- Ensure that Francophone minority communities have the reception
and settlement infrastructures to receive Francophone newcomers
- Ensure the economic integration of French-speaking immigrants
into Canadian society and into Francophone minority communities in
particular
- Ensure the social and cultural integration of French-speaking
immigrants into Canadian society and into Francophone minority communities
- Foster regionalization of Francophone immigration outside Toronto
and Vancouver
Going Beyond Our Goal: 4.9% of Immigrants to Canada Speak French
In 2001, 3.1% of immigrants to Canada outside Quebec were French-speaking.
The first objective of the Framework described how we planned to increase
that amount to 4.4% by 2008. We have gone beyond that goal. In 2004,
4.9% of immigrants speak French.
Where We Are, What We’ve Done and Where We’re Going
On a national level, CIC included linguistic provisions in the Immigration
and Refugee Protection Act and Provincial Nominees Programs. We are working
with our partners to promote immigration to Francophone minority communities
abroad. We have organized successful tours to Central Europe, South America
and Africa, to let people know that there are Francophone communities
that exist outside Quebec.
In March 2005, the Steering Committee launched Towards Building
a Canadian Francophonie of Tomorrow. This report provides a look at what has been
accomplished since the implementation of the Strategic Framework. While
there is still a lot of work to be done, a great deal of progress has
been made to strengthen Francophone minority communities. For example,
in New Brunswick, a round-table session was launched as a pilot project
to encourage integration of French-speaking immigrants and to promote
community awareness. Under the Settlement Worker program in Ontario schools,
information sessions on the Canadian education system are being organized
for French-speaking immigrant parents and children. These are but a few
examples of the progress that has been made across the country.
The CIC–Francophone Minority Communities Steering Committee is
also getting ready to prepare its five-year action plan which will further
support the development of Francophone minority communities in Canada.
For More Information
For more information on what CIC is doing to foster immigration to Francophone
minority communities and/or to learn more about the Strategic Framework
and the Summary of Initiatives, please visit CIC’s Web site at
www.cic.gc.ca under the “Francophone Immigration” section.
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