'Members think the ministry is not doing enough to encourage the arrival and retention of bilingual immigrants.'
Michel Dubé, committee chair, said the committee met with and included several Francophone stakeholders and government officials working in immigration in 2022.
“The recommendations are intended to guide the government in improving and expanding opportunities to maintain the demographic weight of Saskatchewan’s Francophones and ensure their vitality,” Dubé writes in the introduction.
French-speaking populations in Saskatchewan are diminishing, the committee found. Census data shows the number of Saskatchewan residents who speak French as a first language has more than halved since 1961 and continues to gradually decline, now sitting at 1.4 per cent of the total population.
The committee pointed to a dropping number of incoming francophone immigrants paired with lacking settlement services offered in the province as “principal challenges.”
“Francophone communities in minority settings, as in Saskatchewan, especially need immigration,” reads the report.
“Members think the ministry is not doing enough to encourage the arrival and retention of bilingual immigrants.”
The report found that in immigration and labour recruitment work, the province doesn’t make enough effort to promote Saskatchewan in Francophone countries, instead focusing mostly on Anglophone countries.
In examining retention, the committee also found that newly arrived francophone immigrants are often left unconnected to French services and the existing Fransaskois community as a resettlement resource.
“Very few newcomers will know of the existence of a Francophone community offering services in French, which could have provided them a better integration experience,” said the report.
Approximately 70 per cent of immigrants settling in Saskatchewan arrive through SINP, making it a “main channel” for newcomers. The committee said it does not feel SINP “helps meet the critical needs” of Saskatchewan francophones.
SINP now gives additional points to bilingual candidates during the application process, but the committee said this won’t have a “significant impact on increasing the number of francophones accepted.”
The committee’s first recommendation called for more work to promote the province to Francophone countries. The second called for more clear direction to French services for new residents, including a notice that candidates may choose to use French as their primary language when requesting permanent residence.
New clients should be provided forms in French and advised of SAIF-SK as an available resource, said the committee.
A third recommendation calls for the adoption of a Francophone immigration target for the province, and the addition of a bilingual employee within the immigration department to direct services and liaison with Fransaskois organizations.
The final recommendation requested the province consider more funding to French-language services, to accomplish goals of retention and promotion.
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