(Drummondville) Two proposals by Bloc Québécois activists that will be put to a vote at the National Political Training Convention this weekend seek to include in the main document supporting the party’s vision that a lack of power for Quebec in immigration “represents an obstacle to social cohesion”.
The two versions of this idea come from the organization of the Bloc Québécois for the riding of Saint-Jean and from the Forum jeunesse. They must be endorsed by a group of delegates meeting in committee in order to be debated and voted on by all the delegates meeting in plenary.
“We believe that when a nation does not have full power over immigration, this situation represents an obstacle for social cohesion”, can we read in one of them.
The other contains the same sentence, coupled with a rejection of the “Manichean and ideological view of immigration” and an affirmation that, “like any social phenomenon, migration policies can have positive and negative consequences”.
During the Quebec election campaign last fall, Prime Minister François Legault was sharply criticized for having used the word “cohesion” when speaking of immigration, juxtaposing the adjective “national” to him.
He had argued that national cohesion risked being threatened if the influx of non-French-speaking immigrants was not contained. He had defended his request to repatriate the immigration powers held by Ottawa in the bosom of Quebec. Thus, the province could fully control its migration policies based on its reception capacity and the protection of French.
All the leaders of the opposition parties had deplored the remarks of Mr. Legault, including that of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who had criticized the Prime Minister for making “divisive assertions” and “not very responsible”. The PQ leader will deliver a speech Friday evening at the national convention of the Bloc Québécois, which takes place in Drummondville until Sunday.
Mr. Legault returned to his criticized remarks, a day after having made them, to specify that he did not want the knowledge of French to be required of the refugees.
Another proposal by Bloc Québécois delegates is for the party to object to “the inadequacy of federal policies vis-à-vis (Quebec’s) on immigration matters, which jeopardizes French and Quebec culture, as well as the cultures and languages of indigenous peoples”.
The National Assembly recently unanimously adopted a motion declaring that the increase in Canada-wide immigration planned by the federal government was “incompatible with the protection of the French language in Quebec”.
A Léger poll commissioned by “Le Journal de Montréal” and “Le Journal de Québec” published on Wednesday indicates that 41% of Quebecers want their province to welcome fewer immigrants, an almost identical proportion for Canadians with regard to immigration to the countrywide (42%).
In Quebec, 29% of Quebec respondents favor welcoming the same number of immigrants. Across Canada, 33% of Canadians also favor the status quo at home.
Aside from the proposals of Bloc members on immigration, a hundred others are on the agenda.
For example, there is a resolution for the Bloc Québécois to demand that the appointments currently made by the federal government for judges practicing in Quebec be made by the province.
Another purports to state that “it is imperative that all federally appointed judicial positions be appointed forthwith, at all times”. The Terrebonne delegates who submitted this proposal thus wish to avoid “breakdowns in service”, “unreasonable delays” and “delays (of) trials”.
Radio-Canada reported last week that Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner sent a scathing letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and two of his cabinet ministers urging their government to step on the accelerator to about the appointment of judges.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner
“We are seriously concerned that, without concrete efforts to remedy the situation, we will very soon reach a point of no return in several jurisdictions. The consequences will make headlines and will be serious for our democracy and all Canadians, ”we can read, according to a passage quoted by the public broadcaster.
Another proposal aims to allow voting from the age of 16, which is reminiscent of a Liberal resolution adopted in congress, earlier this month, to lower the minimum age to 17 years. The New Democrats failed last fall to push through a bill setting the minimum legal age at 16. Bloc MPs voted in favour.
Among the proposals on the menu this weekend that relate to the environment, one pleads that the Bloc Québécois should put forward “financial assistance” in order to “promote the transition among SMEs and low-income people “.
Each of the proposals must be adopted in committee so that it can then be debated and voted on by all the delegates who will meet in plenary on Sunday. The proposals adopted will result in modifications to a document called the “main proposal”, which is intended to be a vision and a roadmap of the orientations of the Bloc Québécois.