Here we go again. The dispute between Quebec and Ottawa on migration issues escalated after the federal Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, announced his intention to impose his views on family reunification. This is a breach of the Canada-Quebec Accord on Immigration and an encroachment on the jurisdiction of the Quebec nation. On closer inspection, it is above all a useless standoff at the expense of new arrivals who despair of finding their loved ones.
Not everything is decided in this story. Minister Miller sent a letter to his Quebec counterpart, Christine Fréchette, on Sunday to warn her of his intentions. Dissatisfied with Quebec’s deadlines for family reunification, Minister Miller says he is ready to authorize federal officials to accelerate the processing of applications, knowing full well that the ceiling of 10,400 people set by Quebec will be exceeded, and thus process 20,500 applications. on hold.
The missive can be interpreted as a negotiating position, rather clumsy on the part of an elected official who is not making his first blunder. Let us remember the simplism of Marc Miller’s thinking, who recently asserted that immigration would contribute to alleviating the shortage of affordable housing… Since the new arrivals were going to build the units.
Minister Fréchette sees in the latest outing of her federal counterpart “a direct affront to Quebec’s skills”. She and her colleague from Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, deplore in unison that the Trudeau government “does not respect the will of the Quebec nation”. This is the weakest part of their argument, the Quebec nation not being the monolithic bloc idealized by the Legault government. This is evidenced by the results of the 2022 elections, when more Quebecers (2.36 million) voted for the four losing parties than for the Coalition Avenir Québec (1.69 million). Recent polls are even harsher on the unifying claims of the CAQ. This government has the unfortunate habit of confusing its vision of politics with the superior interests of the nation.
This story reveals a collaboration with unequal results between Ministers Miller and Fréchette. It is true that Minister Miller’s intention undermines Quebec’s jurisdiction over immigration, even if it is shared between the two levels of government. If Minister Miller carries out his threat, he will break an agreement respected by all federal governments since 1991. Whether Ottawa likes it or not, it is up to Quebec to determine its targets in terms of permanent immigration.
This is shocking and unacceptable conduct on the part of Ottawa. If it were necessary for the provinces to be able to invade federal areas of jurisdiction every time Ottawa shows negligence, Confederation would quickly become a permanent free-for-all.
The problem raised by Ottawa is no less real for some 20,000 people. It is in Quebec that the time limits for family reunification are the longest: 34 months for a spouse (compared to 12 months in the other provinces) and 50 months for a parent (compared to 24 months). We are talking here about couples separated between two countries, families with children who have not been reunited, grandparents left behind. They would all arrive in Quebec with prior support from their loved ones facilitating their integration, even if the issue of francization remains unsolved for some, in a Quebec which is also reaching the limits of its reception capacities.
At the microphone of All one morning, Minister Fréchette justified these delays by the recent explosion in requests for family reunification, while Quebec tries to maintain an average of 10,400 to 10,600 reunifications per year. The faults are shared. Quebec has issued too many selection certificates over the years to be able to meet its target of some 10,000 candidates eligible for family reunification. For its part, Ottawa has contributed to the delays, arbitrariness and incomprehension, by ignoring the principle of “first come, first served” in the processing of permanent residence applications. His management of the file earned him harsh criticism from the Auditor General.
Despite their disagreement, Marc Miller and Christine Fréchette have one thing in common. They both say they are sensitive to the anxiety and uncertainty caused by the delays in family reunification. They would have every interest in speaking privately to find a solution that will be both respectful of Quebec’s skills, its capacity for integration and the human dignity of those who have aspired to family reunification for too long.