Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, my question has to do with the ninth report of the Auditor General of Canada regarding the backlog of permanent residency applications at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or the IRCC.

The IRCC currently has about 2,600 employees, but the target for the number of cases that must be processed has increased by 50% from 2018 to 2023, going from 310,000 to 465,000 cases. If the government intends to increase the target to 500,000, will it also hire more people to ensure more humane working conditions for the staff processing these cases?

Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate, Senator Gold. As an immigrant, I am delighted that the Government of Canada is planning to increase its immigration targets. We know that, demographically, a population can grow in three ways: through increased fertility, and we will give that some thought; through decreased mortality, which we are already seeing; or through increased immigration. Our current population growth is primarily the result of immigration, which continues to shape who we are as Canadians. However, from one census to the next, the proportion of francophones in Canada is shrinking. What percentage of French-speaking immigrants has our government set as a target for Canada to become a truly bilingual country again?

Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: Colleagues, I was pleasantly surprised by an article published on the CBC website on October 7. It indicated that the federal government is currently working with immigration organizations to develop a massive program to regularize immigration status.

In a letter sent to the government in 2021, the Concertation haïtienne pour les migrants, or CHPM, pointed out the unique situation of non-status Haitian nationals in Canada. Many of these people worked in seniors’ homes at the height of the pandemic but didn’t qualify for the “guardian angels” regularization program in December 2020. They contribute to society and the Canadian francophonie but are stuck in limbo, living a parallel life with no social or legal safety net, in constant fear of being deported.

Honourable senators, I’m sure you’ve heard about the multidimensional crisis that is affecting my home country of Haiti. My heart aches at this nightmarish situation involving the collapse of democratic institutions; corruption; violence by gangs that are terrorizing people, raping women and controlling fuel; acute food insecurity; and the resurgence of cholera.

Haitians are surviving, but that is no way to live. Members of the Haitian diaspora living in Canada without status fear being deported to a country where their safety and that of their families will be in jeopardy. This regularization program will recognize their contribution to the Canadian economy and social fabric and will help give them peace of mind.

I am following this issue closely.

Colleagues, I appeal to you all to express your solidarity with the people of Haiti.

[Editor’s Note: Senator Mégie spoke in another language.]

Thank you. Mèsi anpil.

[English]