(Ottawa) The federal government “does not buy into the conclusions of the Initiative of the Century” and does not set a target of increasing the population of Canada to 100 million people by 2100.
The office of Immigration Minister Sean Fraser forwarded this statement to The Press, Thursday, while the deputies were debating in the House a Bloc motion on this issue, which caused a lot of ink to flow in both Ottawa and Quebec.
“Last November, we announced our immigration thresholds for the next three years. These thresholds were set according to the interests of Canada, and not in response to the wishes of an independent group,” explained the Minister’s press secretary, Bahoz Dara Aziz.
“The opinions of the Initiative of the Century do not constitute government policy. The government does not adhere to the conclusions of the Initiative of the Century and does not aim to increase the population of Canada to 100 million people by 2100,” she said.
Arguing that the “immigration targets are the result of demographic shortages and the significant labor shortage across Canada,” the spokesperson added that the federal government remains “in constant communication with the Government of Quebec “.
The Initiative of the Century aims to increase Canada’s population to 100 million by 2100.
It is driven by experts “who share the belief that prosperity takes planning and that with the right approach to growth, Canada can increase its economic strength and resilience at home and its influence abroad,” reads -on on its website.
Their proposal is not new, but it returned to the forefront after the media of Quebecor devoted their Saturday front page, and several pages, to it. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mockingly referred to it during question period in the House on Wednesday.
“We presented our immigration thresholds in November. It took the cover of Pierre Karl Péladeau and Quebecor for the Bloc to wake up, ”he quipped in response to a question from Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet.
“It is rarely safe to attack the rigor, independence or integrity of a media apparatus. It is rarely very democratic, especially when the head of the said apparatus is Pierre Karl Péladeau, ”replied his interlocutor later.