(Paris) Prime Minister François Legault persists and signs on his request for the compulsory transfer of 80,000 asylum seekers present in Quebec to other provinces, even if Ottawa maintains that it does not have the “legislative power” to to do so and that it would be contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“It is not me who is going to start analyzing the impacts of the different solutions on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It’s up to the federal government. […] It’s up to them to find solutions,” Mr. Legault said during a press scrum in Paris on Thursday.
Despite the controversy raised by his remarks the day before, he maintained his demand to force half of the 160,000 asylum seekers living in Quebec to move to other provinces.
The Prime Minister’s office held up a document dated July 4 and produced by the federal government as part of discussions with the provinces on “European models in terms of asylum rights.” According to him, this is proof that Ottawa itself recognizes the relevance of examining other models, including that of France from which Canada should draw inspiration with its “waiting zones” for asylum seekers. , according to Mr. Legault.
However, the same document shows why Ottawa is relying on the voluntary, and not compulsory, approach for the transfer of asylum seekers already established in Quebec to other provinces.
“Resettlement of asylum seekers to other provinces or territories of Canada should be done on a voluntary basis, as there is no legislative authority to force the transfer of asylum seekers to another province. Forcibly displaced asylum seekers could assert their right to liberty guaranteed by Article 7 of the Charter,” we read.
“I don’t have those opinions” showing that the mandatory transfer would contravene the Charter, Mr. Legault told journalists. “I haven’t analyzed that, so I can’t tell you if you’re right or not” about the constitutionality of mandatory transfers. “And I don’t intend to analyze it either. It is up to the federal government to find solutions. »
Should we use the derogation clause in the Charter to respond to his request? “I will not get involved in finding solutions for the federal government,” he replied. “I don’t want to get into that debate, it’s up to the federal government to find solutions to the problem it created. »
“If we want to be able to humanely welcome these people, there must be a reasonable number of them,” he argued. Currently, we cannot accommodate the number of asylum seekers that the federal government has let into Quebec. So, yes, they have to move half of it. »And it is necessary that this transfer be obligatory according to him. “I have been asking the government to halve the number of asylum seekers for six months, and there have been zero results. So I want results. »
“I have already asked the federal government to transfer powers to me, and they refused to transfer powers to the Quebec government in immigration. It is they who created the problem, it is they who must find the solution,” argued the Prime Minister.
It is “unfair,” he insisted, that Quebec received 45% of asylum seekers while the province represents 22% of the Canadian population.
Asked if he believes he has the support of the population for compulsory transfers, he replied that Quebecers feel “rushed” by immigration at the moment. “I heard Emmanuel Macron say publicly last week that the French feel rushed by immigration. I feel exactly the same thing about Quebecers,” he said.