Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated on Tuesday that he does not intend to transfer all immigration powers to Quebec, as demanded by the province’s premier, François Legault, who intends to make it a battle horse during the campaign. electoral.
“It is certain that a country must continue to have a say in its immigration,” said Mr. Trudeau on Tuesday as he entered the cabinet meeting.
Jurisdiction is shared between the two levels of government “because the protection of French and Francophone immigration is very important to us,” added Mr. Trudeau.
During the weekend, his counterpart François Legault made the repatriation of the family reunification sector a matter of survival for the Quebec nation.
He went so far as to brandish the specter of suffering the fate of Louisiana with a gradual disappearance of the French language in Quebec, if the status quo is maintained.
Four months before the provincial elections, Mr. Legault said he intended to demand a “strong mandate” from the population during the ballot to give himself a real “strength relationship” with Ottawa.
On Tuesday morning, the Trudeau government’s Quebec lieutenant and Minister of Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, noted that “Quebec already has the tools to choose a very large majority of its immigrants.”
The province welcomes about 50,000 immigrants a year.
Nearly 10,000 immigrants come annually from family reunification, mentioned Mr. Rodriguez, adding that nothing prevents Quebec from increasing the number of economic immigrants welcomed.
The Minister of National Revenue, Diane Lebouthillier, did not go there by four paths. She does not “believe” the claims of Prime Minister Legault.
“It is important to respect the fields of competence and we cannot do it just when it suits our business”, she sent.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, for his part maintained that “the powers in terms of immigration are very clear”.
According to him, “the number one issue” currently is the labor shortage and immigration is a key to solving this problem.