The debate we are having on immigration is beneficial. It has an appropriate tone and is conducted adequately by the majority of stakeholders.
• Read also: Immigration: “Canada is caught in a demographic trap”
• Read also: “The Liberal government, in a completely ideological way, has completely lost control by having exponential numbers”
The National Bank study effectively helped to highlight the delicate issue of immigration and forced certain politicians to take a stand.
Moreover, the letter sent by Prime Minister Legault to Justin Trudeau sets out an objective, pragmatic and above all realistic argument. We are far from François Legault who considered immigration as a threat to our identity and our security.
For the discussion to continue along this path, it is important not to fall into the recurring trap of determining, depending on the mood of the day, the required threshold. It is appropriate to set immigration thresholds according to objective and measurable criteria: ability to speak French, number of construction and housing projects available, capacity of our education system, workforce needs, political weight of Quebec, development demographic, etc.
Such an exercise would avoid the famous question “are you for or against immigration?” Because immigration is not and should not be an end in itself. It is a lever which, used precisely and with the right dosage, can contribute to our collective prosperity.
Such an exercise would also make it possible to eliminate the notion of feelings when it comes to immigration. It is not a question of loving, hating, fearing or appreciating immigrants, but of asking ourselves how to reconcile the interests of those who wish to come to us with ours, whether economic, demographic or social. or policies.
Unfortunately, politicians refuse to do this exercise because they want to use the lives and futures of hundreds of thousands of immigrants as a political weapon. Some want to boast about being champions of diversity and inclusion in order to better criticize others who, also through political calculation, exploit feelings of fear and division as a political strategy.