(Quebec) Immigrants can help alleviate the housing crisis, says Québec solidaire, which offers a fast track to permanent immigration for newcomers working in the construction industry.
“We want to make constructive proposals to revive construction in Quebec. We are not building enough in Quebec, construction starts are lagging behind, and we will not resolve the crisis if we do not build more housing,” says the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, in an interview with The Press.
He therefore asks the Legault government to create a pilot project to offer a “fast track” to permanent immigration to foreign workers who choose the construction field.
The demand is pressing: according to the Quebec Construction Commission, the industry will have an annual need of approximately 16,000 new workers by 2027 to meet needs and replace departures.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson for Québec Solidaire
And it is true that there are fewer immigrants in the construction sector in Quebec than in other Canadian provinces. Mr. Nadeau-Dubois sees it as an “opportunity”. “That’s why we’re making this proposal. We can have a generous immigration system, consistent with the welcoming values of Quebecers,” he said.
The Press reported in February that only 3% of temporary immigrants work in the construction sector, half as many as in Quebec’s active population (7%), according to the Institut du Québec.
Solidarity MP Guillaume Cliche-Rivard underlines that there are three fast track pilot projects, one for beneficiary attendants, one for the food processing sector, and another for information technologies and artificial intelligence .
Training effect
“We are proposing a fourth,” he says. The target clientele: “all temporary residents who are already in Quebec, whether refugees or people who have an open or closed work permit,” he said. A temporary immigrant who has worked 12 months in the construction industry in the last 24 months would have access to this fast track.
“When you do this kind of program, there is a ripple effect […] People will join this environment. This is the same effect that we hope to have,” said Mr. Cliche-Rivard.
Québec solidaire would like this program to attract 550 people per year, the maximum provided by law for a pilot project. Over a period of five years, this would therefore mean 2,750 new workers.
“This is not to be neglected. This can significantly contribute to relaunching construction sites. It’s not just symbolic,” explained Mr. Nadeau-Dubois.
A “challenge”, but also an “opportunity”
He thus wants to respond to Prime Minister François Legault and PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who point out the role of immigration in the housing crisis. Last week, Mr. Legault said that the significant increase in the number of temporary immigrants “brings enormous problems for Quebecers. We lack teachers, nurses, housing, and that poses a real challenge for the future of French, particularly in Montreal.” On Saturday, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon affirmed that immigration was the main cause of the housing crisis.
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois deplored this speech by the two party leaders, who “talk about immigration in the same way”, that is to say as “a problem and a threat”.
“Immigration is believed to represent a challenge in the midst of a housing crisis. Especially the recent explosion of temporary immigration. But it can also be an opportunity to restart construction,” explained the MP for Gouin. “Without denying the existence of the challenge, we are looking for solutions to make the immigration system work,” he added.
He also criticized the Parti Québécois’ proposal to freeze the arrival of new temporary foreign workers. A freeze, said Mr. Nadeau-Dubois, is “neither reasonable nor realistic given the labor needs in several regions of Quebec.”