I would like to add a comment about the Express Entry system. I am far from being an expert on that, because it was created quite recently. There is a learning curve.
I am a member of the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité Canada, the network for economic development and employability. Everywhere in Canada, the members of the network have begun to look at the system.
In our opinion, the key element regarding Express Entry is the fact that we lost the Francophone Significant Benefit program about a year ago. We lost ground because this reduced the advantage we had in recruiting francophones.
We feel it is clear that employers must be at the heart of this new Express Entry system. We have to be in a position to support the employers, to raise their awareness and convince them of the value added of having francophones come to the communities. We have to help them choose francophones and invite them to come and work in Canada. The system as such does not favour francophones. They are at the same level as anyone else. Even when they provide information, they may omit indicating that French is their second or third language and that they do not speak English. Will they put that down? I don't know.
In that sense, we have some rather big challenges to meet. Perhaps there should be something directly linked to francophones in the Express Entry system.
We know that points are awarded for knowing a second official language. We could see how many people will mention it. If I remember correctly, for the second language—French in this case—about 20 points are awarded out of a possible 1,200 points. It is not significant and does not constitute an effective strategy to recruit francophones.