Francophone organizations in the Niagara region welcome the changes to immigration

Local groups welcome the streamlined process that will let more francophone immigrants come to Canada, but the federal government will also have to lower employment barriers once they arrive, they say.

“We used to tell them that once you are here, you have to forget who you were back home,” said Fété Ngira-Batware Kimpiobi, executive director of SOFIFRAN, a Welland-based agency that helps francophone newcomers settle into life in Canada. “If you were a doctor, you have to go back to school. Do not expect to start practising medicine the day you land in Canada. It simply is not possible.”

She advises people thinking about immigrating to look closely, before they apply to come to Canada, at the skills and certifications their current profession will require if they want to continue that career here.

“It is up to you to look into that, and then to see what the requirements are in terms of law or labour in Canada, and whether you have the skills for that kind of work.”

Emmanuel Mompongo, nutrition and sport program coordinator at SOFIFRAN, says the same thing.

“Let us say a doctor arrives from another country to work as a doctor. They do not realize how expensive it is to become a doctor here. They come thinking they are going to start working as a doctor right away.”

More often than not, the person ends up taking any job at all just to get settled.

“The question becomes, do I take any job, start working and provide for my family, knowing that once they land a minimum-wage job or an entry-level job they will not be able to afford all of that,” he said.

Announcing the plan earlier this month, Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said the French language “is an integral and historic part of Canada’s rich cultural and linguistic landscape” and that the changes “will strengthen the vitality of communities across Canada and respond to their unique realities.”

She added that the plan would help fill labour shortages tied to a clear economic goal, by inviting candidates with specific work experience or French language skills to apply for permanent residence in Canada.

Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, called the changes an “important step” in the government’s commitment to promoting linguistic diversity and inclusion.

“By opening new pathways and new opportunities, we are not only strengthening our ties with the global Francophonie, we are also building a stronger, more vibrant Canada for everyone,” he said. “Francophone immigration matters all the more because it enriches the unique character of francophone communities linguistically, demographically and economically.

In a news release about the change, the government said that category-based selection helps Canada attract “global talent” and will help it meet its need for francophone and bilingual workers to support the economy.

But Béatrice Groux, president of the Maison de la culture francophone du Niagara, said encouraging more people to come here is one thing, and setting them up to succeed is another.

“There are people who came here and it took them six months to get a work permit,” she said, adding that it can be even harder when someone works in a profession that is regulated in Canada.

More often than not, people have had to give up their former career. That is what she went through herself. She had to build a new career as a Montessori teacher after leaving France for Canada 33 years ago. In France, she was a horticultural engineer.

“It is very common for immigrants to start a second career,” she says. “Not everyone has the financial means.