December Immigration and Interprovincial Migration

Transcription

1 Immigration and Interprovincial Migration

2 Letter of Transmittal The Honourable Donna Harpauer Provincial Secretary Minister Harpauer: It is my pleasure to present the fourth report of the Provincial Secretary s following our meeting which took place on May 28, 2010, in Regina. Under the theme of Immigration and Interprovincial Migration, we met with senior officials from the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration. Our committee also surveyed the Francophone community network to identify any issues or trends in this sector while meeting with several groups who play leading roles in both the recruitment and settlement of French-speaking newcomers to the province. The growth of our communities and province are a priority for both the Francophone community and the provincial government. It is our hope that our recommendations can serve to unlock the potential for a significant increase in French-speaking migration to the province in years to come to the benefit of all. On behalf of the members of our committee, I am pleased to present you today with our recommendations. Sincerely, René Carpentier Chair of the Advisory Committee

3 Executive Summary In our discussions with both Francophone stakeholders and government representatives, we quickly realized that there is a shared interest in pursuing a population growth strategy. Saskatchewan s immigration strategy is labour driven and all of the efforts to attract newcomers to our province are structured to address labour shortages, in close collaboration with employers. For the Francophone community, the most important objective to be achieved by their immigration strategy is to increase its population base while ensuring these newcomers are able to contribute to Saskatchewan. This report proposes seven recommendations that we believe would strengthen our province s efforts to attract newcomers to Saskatchewan. By working more closely with its Francophone community, Saskatchewan will add value to its current actions and initiatives in this sector which, in return, will contribute to the growth and well being of our province as a whole. Recommendations: 1. That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration collaborate with the community s employment service, Action Emploi, to develop a national French-language labour recruitment strategy that would meet provincial labour needs. 2. That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration increase French-language content on the Saskatchewan Immigration website by translating key programs and documents identified in consultation with representatives of the Francophone Provincial Immigration Network. 3. That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration actively pursue a more formal labour mobility partnership with Mauritius. 4. That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration work closely with the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise to identify source countries which would respond to both provincial labour needs and Francophone community objectives. 5. That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration encourage postsecondary institutions to implement a process to facilitate identification of French-speaking undergraduate and graduate students which respects privacy rights

4 6. That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration create a 12 th gateway under the leadership of the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise and the Fransaskois Provincial Immigration Network. 7. That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration enter into negotiation with the federal government in order to devolve immigration services to the provincial government. The transfer of responsibilities would include maintenance of the French-language services. Committee Mandate Advise the Provincial Secretary in her role as Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs through the review and analysis of programs and policies to guide the implementation of Saskatchewan s French-language Services Policy. Meeting Objective The objective of the fifth meeting of this committee was to identify opportunities pertaining to the immigration and inter-provincial migration sector, which was identified as a priority by both the Francophone community stakeholders and government ministries during our initial consultation in the summer of French-speaking Immigration and Migration Building on History It is fitting that we discuss French-speaking migration to the province as a key to our Francophone community s development as in many ways, our communities were built by what we could coin as Saskatchewan s first wave of immigration more than two hundred years ago. Two centuries ago, French-speaking Métis originating from Eastern Canada criss-crossed the province providing linguistic and cultural bridges with Saskatchewan s First Nations well before the European settlement of Western Canada. On the heels of these explorers, in the 1900 s, came additional Frenchspeaking settlers from Eastern Canada, the United States and directly from European countries, such as Belgium and France. These settlers and their descendents help build the Saskatchewan we know today and left us with a geography and culture indelibly marked with their contributions. At present, Saskatchewan is once again in an expansion phase which presents another golden opportunity to build on the cultural and institutional strength of our Francophone communities across the province

5 Reconciling the Economic and Demographic Rationale Essentially, Saskatchewan s strategy is labour driven. The province seeks to respond, both through its national and international recruitment efforts, to existing needs in the current labour market. Therefore, gaps in Saskatchewan s labour force help determine which national or international markets the province more actively pursues. These choices are made in close collaboration with employers who, through experience in international recruitment and settlement of their workforce, provide continued feedback. The Francophone community s population strategy is demographically driven. They are seeking to increase Saskatchewan s French-speaking population to respond to the challenges of assimilation and more importantly, to diversify and enrich their communities. The link to the labour market is also an essential one for them to facilitate integration and retention, but is not their prime motivation. They want to see their communities and their French-language schools grow to their full potential across the province. This creates a great opportunity for partnership, the key to which is the identification of source countries which are French-speaking but also respond to Saskatchewan labour needs. Such a labour driven approach could ensure the objectives of both the province and community are reached without compromise to their core motivations. However, for Saskatchewan, such a proposition does beg a question: Why target the Francophone community in particular and not other cultural or linguistic groups? Organized, Inclusive and Welcoming The Committee is in no way suggesting demographic targets at the linguistic level should be developed in the province. Nor are we indicating that the Francophone community should get special recognition over and above that afforded by Saskatchewan s French-language Services Policy and existing partnerships with the Government of Canada. We would encourage the province to work closely with this community because it has an existing expertise in labour recruitment through its employment service. For example, it manages a solid network of schools, community centres and organizations to support integration. Furthermore, the Francophone community pioneered the notion of inclusion of new citizens; the result of more than a year of community collaboration, consultation and research. In this sector, they are an ideal partner

6 Saskatchewan s Newest French-speaking Citizens Detailed information on French-speaking migration is mostly limited to census data. As the next census is scheduled to take place in 2011, our analysis of Saskatchewan s more recent population growth is limited to the available information and as a result cannot be analyzed in detail at this time. However, data from 2001 to 2006 does give us an interesting picture of trends. During this period, Saskatchewan welcomed 1,105 Francophone citizens through interprovincial migration and 240 Francophone international immigrants. These newcomers came to us from every province and territory within Canada, particularly from the East and internationally from Europe, South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. A recent Statistic Canada report on population growth seems to confirm the trend. Out of 5,000 newcomers to our province between April and June of 2010, 1,027 new citizens have come through interprovincial migration; one third of this group being from Québec. Most new citizens settled in Regina and Saskatoon, although, like our Francophone population, many also settled in smaller towns and cities across the province. Since 2006, it is difficult to evaluate exactly how many of Saskatchewan s new citizens are Francophone. However, considering eight per cent of students in the Francophone school system are now children of new immigrants, we know that these numbers have grown considerably since. The table below also gives an indication of immigration levels for Frenchspeaking individuals, although it only represents international immigration and is based on self-declared language competency, which does not always accurately represent actual ability to speak the language

7 Number of Immigrants to Saskatchewan (Permanent Residents) French-speaking Total French-speaking (left axis) Total (right axis) Source: Canada CIC Facts and Figures, 2009 These numbers do not fully represent the impact of Saskatchewan s latest population growth on the Francophone community. What was once a very homogeneous group mainly of European and First Nation descent, is quickly transforming into a very diverse and multicultural community. One only has to visit a Francophone school or daycare to notice that a fundamental change is under way. Like any change, it is fraught with both risk and opportunity. To their credit, Saskatchewan s Francophone community is seeing and acting on this as an opportunity to grow and diversify their communities to the betterment of all. Interprovincial Migration Seizing the Opportunity Here at Home The movement of Canadian labour from east to west is certainly not new. However, Saskatchewan, seeking to capture its fair share of this labour before it goes west certainly is. With one third of Canadian citizens being Frenchspeaking, there is no doubt in our minds that Saskatchewan s Francophone community should be an active participant in any provincial recruitment initiative to the east of Manitoba

8 The Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration has responded to this opportunity in the past both through its support to Frenchspeaking employment services in the community but also through selective collaboration and support to the relevant Francophone stakeholder groups for labour recruitment activities in Eastern Canada. We would encourage the ministry to continue to build on these initial steps and empower Francophone stakeholders to be our ambassadors in French-speaking areas of Canada. For both the Francophone community and the province, there is no bigger source of French-speaking labour than here at home in Canada. We sometimes forget this because of the considerable profile of international immigration. We would say to both parties that a successful strategy in this sector would begin with an organized effort to promote opportunities in Saskatchewan to French-speaking populations throughout Canada. Recommendation # 1 That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration collaborate with the community s employment service, Action Emploi, to develop a national French-language labour recruitment strategy that would respond to provincial labour needs. Immigration in Saskatchewan Saskatchewan s Francophone community, through its Provincial Immigration Network, has set ambitious goals for itself within Saskatchewan s population growth objectives. In their strategic plan on immigration over the next 20 years, they seek to maintain their demographic weight with clear targets to increase the number of French-speaking newcomers from 100 per year in 2010 to 1,000 per year by Saskatchewan Provincial Nominee Program Both the provincial government and the many stakeholder groups in this sector are relatively new actors to the world of international labour recruitment. The Francophone community is no exception and through the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise it has been involved in this sector for more than five years. Despite their recent involvement in this sector and their different motivations in attracting newcomers to our province, Saskatchewan and its Francophone communities seem now to be firmly on the same track when it comes to attracting new citizens to the province; the common objective being to develop our population in line with the growth of our labour market. Our biggest selling point to international immigrants is the promise of a job even before they get here

9 Within a competitive international labour market, one of the keys to success is self-promotion. Saskatchewan has recently launched a comprehensive webbased immigration website that brings together information and services to help potential newcomers to better understand our province. This same website also centralizes available services for newcomers before and after they make Saskatchewan their home. The Saskatchewan Immigration site would gain from better linkages with existing immigration websites created by Saskatchewan s Francophone community. It could also easily be enriched through targeted translation of key documents and services made available online. Recommendation # 2 That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration increase French-language content on the Saskatchewan Immigration website by translating keys programs and documents identified in consultation with representatives of the Francophone Provincial Immigration Network. Mauritius A Success to Build Upon Earlier this year, a delegation from Mauritius visited our province to explore potential partnerships with Saskatchewan. Labour mobility was quickly identified as a potential area for collaboration. Though English is the official language of the country, the Francophone community was brought on-board early in this partnership as French remains very much a part of daily life on the island. The Republic of Mauritius is located 900 kilometres east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. In 1715 the French claimed its territory and renamed it Île de France. It became a prosperous colony. The British took possession of the island in 1814 and since then, French institutions were maintained and the French language is still widely used in addition to English, the official language, and Creole. Shortly after their initial visit, a delegation comprised of Saskatchewan government officials, community representatives, as well as representatives from the University of Regina s Institut français, visited Mauritius to establish more formal links with the country, in particular with respect to labour mobility. This new market represents a great opportunity for both the province and the community to access a highly educated workforce, which speaks fluently both English and French, and could more easily integrate into our province while contributing to our Francophone communities

10 Recommendation # 3 That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration actively pursue a more formal labour mobility partnership with Mauritius. This initiative is a telling example of one of the ideas our committee has been promoting since the publication of our first report. We need to capitalize on the advantage that having a vibrant Francophone community, which is a definite asset for our province in its relationships with French-speaking countries from around the world. Mauritius presents us with a useful model to identify additional countries in which provincial and community interests would meet. In essence, such new markets for labour would respond to provincial labour needs and reinforce our Francophone communities. Mauritius is only one of many countries in the International Francophonie with which Saskatchewan might want to establish more formal partnerships with respect to labour mobility. The Office of the Provincial Secretary recently provided financial support directly to the Francophone community to identify additional source countries for French-speaking immigration. The Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration in collaboration with the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise, recently proposed a project to the federal government to recruit French speaking workers and to attract international students from Mauritius. Recommendation # 4 That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration work closely with the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise to identify source countries which would respond to the provincial labour needs and Francophone community objectives. The Government of Canada also has its own ambitious objectives with respect to French-speaking immigration, which could serve Saskatchewan s interests. For several years now, Canada has been supporting provincial international recruitment efforts, particularly in Western Europe. Any substantive effort by Saskatchewan to develop new markets in the International Francophonie could easily draw considerable financial support from the Government of Canada and facilitate the implementation of our recommendations for the province. International Education Making the Most of Our Investments One of Saskatchewan s assets that we believe needs to be exploited to its fullest is the University of Regina s Institut français, our provincial hub for Frenchlanguage university education. Capitalizing on the growing presence of

11 international students on university campuses is at the core of many successful provincial immigration strategies across the country. We believe the Institut français could play a role in attracting additional international French-speaking students not only in French programs but in several English-language programs on campuses across the province. While creating a strong French-language presence on the University of Regina Campus, the Institut français has also been successful in establishing partnerships in many sectors, both with the community and Canadian universities. Using these strengths, the Institut français could easily: become a provincial hub for the recruitment and retention of international French-speaking students; actively recruit students through formal partnerships and exchanges with educational institutions in French-speaking countries of strategic interest to the province; assume the delivery and coordination of support and services to these new students once they become established in a Saskatchewan postsecondary institution. In our consultations, one particular issue was raised by stakeholders in relation to international education. At this time, there is no process in place to identify French-speaking international students when they make Saskatchewan their destination of choice. The development of an identification process would enable the Institut français to reach out to these students. Such a process would need to respect the privacy rights of students. Recommendation # 5 That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration encourage postsecondary institutions to implement a process to facilitate identification of French-speaking undergraduate and graduate students which respects privacy rights. Settlement Services Saskatchewan s Francophone communities are akin to small villages distributed amongst our cities and towns across the province. They meet in parishes, schools and community centres and give life to several institutions and community services which support the development of their culture and language. Little more than five years ago, a strong wave of French-speaking refugees began arriving in our province accompanied by an increase in economic

12 immigrants due to the province s growing economy. For these small communities, the impacts were quickly felt and seen. There was never any question that they felt it was their responsibility to welcome and support these new French-speaking citizens. Community groups across the province responded with generosity of heart and spirit. However, they quickly realized that they did not have the community infrastructure to match services provided by mainstream immigration services such as the Open Door Societies. Notwithstanding, they turned their whole network of community organization to the task of providing new programs and services in French for their new neighbours, this with little additional financial support from federal and provincial agencies. Over the last five years, this situation has created considerable fatigue in both provincial and local community service organizations. Though they share federal and provincial immigration growth objectives, they feel there should be additional support given to their community groups in order to ensure that once new citizens arrive, they can access comparable services in French. The current position of both federal and provincial funding agencies is that once the community can demonstrate that it has successfully grown and can officially account for these new citizens, additional funding would flow. Saskatchewan s Francophone community stakeholders argue that there should be solid Frenchlanguage settlement infrastructures in place before these new citizens arrive as even current levels of migration are quickly eroding the community s capacity to respond to even the most basic needs of these new citizens. Networking Communities Saskatchewan s Gateway Model Francophone communities were not the only ones to feel the stress of the recent increase in migration to the province. In response to this widespread challenge, the provincial government championed the Gateway Model, which allows community groups to network their services through the 11 service gateways across the province. These networks ensure that newcomers can access services close to home and the community groups can thereby pool their resources while receiving additional provincial support. This regional geographic model has great promise for Saskatchewan s immigrant population. However, it does present a specific challenge for our Francophone community as they quickly become lost in a model which seeks to create capacity in eleven regions. Their organizational resources are already stretched and, under the new model, they would need to ensure French-language capacity in all these areas as well as interact with these eleven networks and their sponsors across the province

13 We support the recommendation of the community to our Committee, namely to create and promote a 12 th gateway for newcomers which would be supported by the existing Provincial Immigration Network. This new gateway would only offer services in French and cover Fransaskois communities by way of their sector community organizations at the provincial level and in particular in the urban areas of Saskatoon and Regina. The operational model of the Fransaskois community is supported by a provincial network of sector organizations which itself is supported by 12 regional associations spread throughout the province. Considering the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration already funds the Francophone community to offer settlement services, this recommendation would only imply formal recognition of their network and more importantly its promotion by the province as a provincial gateway. This status would also allow the community groups to access support and training while ensuring that they have opportunity to participate fully, as a gateway, in developing support services for their fellow citizens. Recommendation # 6 That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration create a 12 th gateway under the leadership of the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise and the Fransaskois Provincial Immigration Network. The Need for an Articulated Approach Currently, with respect to settlement services, the provincial government takes responsibility for supporting the integration of economic migrants under Saskatchewan s Immigrant Nominee Program while the federal government, through Citizenship and Immigration Canada, supports all other settlement programs including support services to refugees. Though this seems simple enough, stakeholders have indicated that this dual responsibility plays havoc on the stability of community services as it forces recipient organizations to erect a series of artificial barriers within their service delivery models. Stakeholders advocated for a much better coordination of provincial and federal programs to ensure they are in a position to offer comprehensive services, regardless of immigration status, to clients who step into their service centres. When someone shows up in the office, with children and luggage in tow, looking for a job, housing, and a series of other settlement services, we can t expect these groups to respond: Sorry, we don t get funding for you or Your particular funding agreement wasn t signed yet, please come back in a couple of months

14 One solution offered by stakeholders and hinted at by government representatives, which caught our interest was the devolution of all federal settlement programs to the provincial government. This could ensure a more coordinated approach, led at the provincial level, of all immigration settlement services regardless of status. One would expect this change to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of these services and allow for a more coordinated service delivery by community organizations. However, if the province decides to embrace such a model, it should ensure that it receives specific funding for the Francophone component of its settlement infrastructure, considering the Government of Canada s legal and constitutional obligations to provide French-language services. Such a specific envelope would ensure that the community is not forgotten, as is often the case, in the transition period that would follow. Recommendation # 7 That the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration enter into negotiation with the Federal government in order to devolve immigration services to the provincial government. The transfer of responsibilities would include maintenance of the French-language services. A Reminder, Promoting an Informed Choice for Education Our Francophone schools, much like their counterparts across the province, are at the forefront of integration efforts across the province. They cooperate actively in ensuring that the first generation of newcomers find the help and knowledge they need to contribute to our communities and province. Their role doesn t stop at educating children; they also become the principal link between immigrant families and their local community. There is no doubt that there is a need for additional support and coordination of services within the Francophone school network. We hope that recommendations in our last report on this sector published in June 2010 can help ensure that our educational institutions are properly resourced to fully play their role in providing immigrant families access to comprehensive settlement services

15 We would also like to reiterate the importance of providing comprehensive information to all new immigrant families with respect to school choices in the province, including the Francophone school network. Too often French-speaking families are oriented towards the English stream by well meaning individuals under the guise of an easier integration. In our last report, we recommended the Ministry of Education develop a comprehensive guide to facilitate school choices for new immigrants. This could be distributed to immigrant service centres across the province and help new families make informed choices in this respect. Next meeting Constituted for a period of three years, members of the Committee will meet three times a year until the spring of 2011 when a review of the mandate of the committee will take place. It is the Committee s intent to produce a similar report following each theme meeting with recommendations for the Provincial Secretary

16 OFFICE OF THE PROVINCIAL SECRETARY ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON FRANCOPHONE AFFAIRS LIST OF APPOINTED CANDIDATES René Carpentier, chair Mr. Carpentier, an entrepreneur, is executive partner of a Saskatchewan consulting and projects management group in Regina. For many years he has worked within Francophone regional and provincial organisations including the Conseil de la coopération de la Saskatchewan. Mr. Carpentier assumes the role of chair of the Advisory Committee for the first term. Michel Dubé, ex-officio Mr. Michel Dubé from Prince Albert has worked in journalism, community development, and the implementation of francophone school governance. An entrepreneur, Mr. Dubé was elected Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise (ACF) community representative for the Prince Albert region in 1999 and was president of the ACF from 2006 to Laurette Lefol Ms. Lefol, born and raised in Saskatchewan and active in her community of Saskatoon. Holding a Certified Management Accountant designation, Ms. Lefol has also developed human resources and leadership skills and is well known in the non-profit organisations sector. David Lawlor Musician, composer and master in sound arrangements and the use of multimedia, Mr. David Lawlor is well known on the cultural scene, provincially, nationally and even internationally. Mr. Lawlor is an instructor of French as a Second-Language at the University of Regina and is especially interested in the development and teaching of courses by Internet. Jean Nepo Murwanashyaka Mr. Jean Nepo Murwanashyaka has lived in several countries and regions of Canada before settling in Saskatoon. Working with a firm of engineers in the mining sector, he has developed knowledge and expertise in project management, process engineering and problem analysis. Mr. Murwanashyaka is also very active among the French-speaking African population of Saskatoon. André Nogue Mr. Nogue, with roots in rural Saskatchewan, made his career in the federal civil service which has allowed him to develop a solid expertise in management of official languages programs. He is very familiar with the Fransaskois community, its needs and its challenges. Presently retired, Mr. Nogue lives in Regina

17 Claudia Poirier Ms. Claudia Poirier, who comes from south-east Saskatchewan, operates, together with her husband, a farming operation. As a mother concerned for the education of her children, she very early became involved in school governance, first on the local school board and later on the Conseil scolaire fransaskois de Bellegarde and the Conseil scolaire provincial. In 2006 she was awarded the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal. Joselle Stringer Ms. Joselle Stringer, from Gravelbourg, has worked in the community development and tourism sector of the southern region of the province. The owner of a fitness facility, her interests also extend to the learning of several languages, including Spanish. Ms. Stringer presently works in the area of culture in Regina and remains active in her community