IMMIGRATION SUPPORT TO FRANCOPHONE MINORITY COMMUNITIES

[The Great Bastun]

OTTAWA, October 2, 2003 -- The Honourable Denis Coderre, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today tabled the government's response to Immigration as a Tool for the Development of Official Language Minority Communities, a report issued by the Standing Committee on Official Languages in May 2003. The report made 14 recommendations to support the vitality of official language minority communities.

"The attraction of immigrants to Francophone minority communities and their integration and retention are important issues for Canada," said Minister Coderre. "Linguistic duality is fundamental to our Canadian identity, and many Francophone minority communities outside Quebec are committed to welcoming newcomers in their communities to develop and thrive."

The Government of Canada will step up efforts to attract immigrants to Francophone minority communities outside Quebec and integrate them. The development of Francophone minority communities requires the close collaboration of several federal departments and agencies, and partnerships with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, as well as the communities themselves. These partnerships are embodied in the CIC-Francophone Minority Communities Steering Committee. CIC will continue to lead efforts to seek out the partnerships necessary to support the development of Francophone minority communities.

"The standing committee has produced a comprehensive report with many strong recommendations," said Minister Coderre. "I would like to thank the committee members for their hard work."

The Government of Canada agrees with the vast majority of the standing committee's recommendations, and has already taken action on some of them through the Action Plan for Official Languages announced in March 2003. Many other recommendations will be addressed in the strategic framework to be released later this fall by the CIC-Francophone Minority Communities Steering Committee. The issue will also be discussed by the federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for immigration at their annual meeting in Victoria on October 15-16, 2003.