LANG Committee News Release

PRESS RELEASE

Standing Committee on Official Languages presents its report on immigration

OTTAWA, May 8, 2003 – The House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages tabled a report entitled Immigration as a Tool for the Development of Official Language Minority Communities today. The report contains 14 recommendations dealing with a question that the Committee considers to be a high priority for official language minority communities.

The Committee began working on this question in the spring of 2002 and heard from many witnesses. “Clearly, francophone minority communities are not receiving a large enough proportion of francophone immigrants to ensure their demographic renewal,” said Mauril Bélanger, Chair of the Committee.

The Committee is asking a number of departments and agencies to intervene in the various phases of the immigration process in order to advance the vitality and development of official language minority communities. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the department primarily responsible for immigration services in Canada, is a key player. The Committee expects that all new federal‑provincial‑territorial agreements on immigration signed by CIC will now mention the commitment of the signatories to promote linguistic duality and enhance the vitality of official language minority communities.   The Committee also recommends that CIC review current funding for the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program, which is clearly inadequate for the courses offered in French. Lastly, the Committee hopes that other federal institutions, especially Canadian Heritage, Human Resources Development Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, will increase their involvement in the area of immigration within the framework of their respective mandates.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages is made up of sixteen Members of Parliament from each political party represented in the House.

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For information, contact: Marc-Olivier Girard Clerk, Standing Committee on Official Languages (613) 996-2441

Caroline LeBlanc Legislative Assistant to Mauril Bélanger, MP (613) 992-4766