Official Languages and Immigration – List of recommendations
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- Attract and Retain: The Federal Government has made a commitment to supporting the development and vitality of official language minority communities under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration must establish long-term selection and retention targets for immigrants for immigrants to official language minority communities. These targets must not only reflect the demographic percentage of these communities within the general population but also compensate for inequitable immigration rates in the past.
- Up-to-date Information on Communities: In 1999, the Commissioner had recommended to Citizenship and Immigration Canada that current information about official language minority communities be made available to immigration officials. The Commissioner maintains her recommendation and further proposes that a website be created to provide information about Official Language Minority Communities which would also serve as a three-way interactive communication tool facilitating direct contact between minority community representatives, immigration officials and potential immigrants.
- Settlement Monitoring: In order to evaluate the effectiveness of attracting immigrants into official language minority communities, the Federal Government should establish a long-term monitoring mechanism. Such a mechanism would not only allow it to report on the number of newly arriving immigrants but would be able to assess the retention of immigrants within official language minority communities.
- Provincial Nominees and Minority Communities: The Federal Government should ensure that any existing and/or future agreements regarding Provincial Nominees are executed in ways that safeguard and strengthen the vitality of official language minority communities. Representatives from these communities must participate actively in the annual recruitment process so that an equitable number of Provincial Nominees settle into official language minority communities.
- Qualification Recognition: The Federal Government, in cooperation with the provinces and territories, should pursue its commitment under the UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees concerning Higher Education to assist immigrant professionals obtain licensing in Canada. In its efforts, the Federal Government must ensure that immigrants settling in official language minority communities are not disadvantaged due to the origin and language of their credentials which may differ from the majority of immigrants.
