The organization Immigration Canada itself recognizes it: there is a lot of racism against nationals of French-speaking African countries, and the worst thing is that it happens even there. This surprising admission, to say the least, comes amid a response from the federal government, and by extension Sean Fraser, to a report by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) released late this spring. .

The document in question, which Radio Canada says is 22 pages, was discreetly posted online in late September and was not the subject of a press conference or public intervention by the minister. It should be noted that the Fraser department has so far stated that all inquiries are treated equally regardless of the country of origin. However, in his reply to the CIMM, he was very critical of the behavior of the immigration officers in his department. “There would therefore be higher rejection rates among African students,” stresses Sean Fraser, who specified that Immigration Canada will launch an internal study on “Fighting Racism” in the first half of 2023.

More than 80% of applications from African countries are rejected

“Immigration Canada, says the same minister, needs to do more to understand the disparity between the approval rate for study permit applications from African applicants and applicants from other regions.” And to add: “African students who wish live or work in Canada after graduation should not be punished”.

It should be noted that this observation, which overwhelms Immigration Canada, follows various insightful reports massive rejections of applications from some African countries, which leads to misunderstandings and annoyance among the educational institutions and applicants concerned. In fact, the rejection rate for applications for study permits from certain French-speaking African countries is over 80%.

Immigration Canada: opaque software

To remedy this, “the government agrees to review the international student selection process,” Sean Fraser promises. “These should be evaluated using criteria more related to their potential and value,” he said.

The tool used to process study permit applications has also been heavily criticized: the Chinook software, which has been used by immigration officials since 2018. In fact, it is harshly denounced by various experts for its opacity. Secretary Fraser, saying that “Immigration Canada agrees on the need for transparency,” assured that “public consultations will be held on new technologies.” “An assessment will be made of Chinook,” he added, specifying that this tool “does not make any decisions by itself”.