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From October 31 to November 5, 2016, French speakers across Canada are celebrating Francophone Immigration Week. The week-long event, now in its fourth year, was created by the Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities of Canada (Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne, or FCFA) and the Francophone Immigration Networks (Réseaux en immigration francophone, or RIF) to highlight Francophone immigration and diversity.
The theme of the event this year is “Building Community through Diversity”, and event planning reflects this objective. Activities taking place across Canada include community discussions, dance performances, community meals, sports, career-building workshops and mentorship events, immigration information sessions, family events, and more.
The official website for the event states that the purpose of Francophone Immigration Week is to “recognize newcomers’ contributions to the vitality and dynamism of Francophone communities outside of Quebec, as well as to showcase these communities’ efforts to attract, welcome, and support the integration of newcomers. It’s also an opportunity to create and strengthen ties between Francophone immigrants and host communities.”
Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, John McCallum, released a statement on Monday October 31 supporting the event.
“As we begin Francophone Immigration Week, we recognize the important contributions of Francophone newcomers to Canada and highlight our commitment to ensuring the vitality of Francophone communities and our country’s rich bilingualism.
“The Government of Canada has taken a number of steps to increase the number of Francophones settling in Canada: promoting Francophone minority communities to French-speaking foreign nationals abroad, encouraging the use of the Provincial Nominee Program, fostering Francophone services to French-speaking immigrants, working with employers to promote Francophone foreign nationals for permanent jobs in Canada, and consulting with Francophone minority communities on new measures.
“Earlier this year, I was proud to announce that my department had re-established the Labour Market Impact Assessment exemption that allows employers in Francophone minority communities to recruit French-speaking workers to highly-skilled jobs on a temporary basis.
“But there is much more that can be done. On this Francophone Immigration Week, I encourage all Canadians to celebrate the many accomplishments of Francophone newcomers as we work towards strengthening Canada’s diverse Francophone minority communities.”
Earlier this year, the government of Canada introduced an initiative under the International Mobility Program to make it easier for employers outside of Quebec to hire French speakers. Mobilité Francophone enables employers to hire eligible foreign nationals without first being required to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment.