Immigration lawyer Guillaume Cliche-Rivard will be a candidate for the nomination of Québec solidaire in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne for the provincial elections this fall. The former president of the Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers (AQAADI) says he wants to make the leap into politics to “have positive ideas and discourse” on immigration.
“Because it is sorely lacking,” said Mand Cliche-Rivard interviewed at Homework, citing a range of issues, including long wait times for immigrants applying through various programs. “The last few years have been difficult, both for businesses in sectors with labor shortages and for the immigrant population. […] When is the big good news? »
Putting the Department of Immigration “front and center”
In 2019, Mr.and Cliche-Rivard had stood up to the Minister of Immigration at the time, Simon Jolin-Barette, who, claiming that the Quebec experience program did not meet the needs of the labor market, had announced the scrapping of nearly of 18,000 files already submitted. The AQAADI had filed a request for an injunction against the Legault government, which had finally been forced to resume processing the files, until Bill 9 was adopted under a gag order a few months later.
Most recently, M.and Cliche-Rivard was the lawyer for the AQAADI who filed a lawsuit against Immigration Canada because of the long delays in processing files for skilled workers in Quebec, which are currently 28 months, compared to barely 6 months elsewhere in Canada. .
The 32-year-old lawyer points out that in Quebec, the Minister of Immigration still holds another important portfolio. “You still have to want to be interested in it and that it be a ministry that has love and that is at the forefront,” he says. “This ministry, a bit like the federal government, will have to have the means to match its ambitions. For me, there is no reason to limit and complicate access to residence for francophone workers. »
He is rather critical of the choices made by the CAQ government. He wonders in particular what the value test was used for, an unnecessary expense, since “99% pass it on the first try”, he illustrated. He also believes that Quebec would benefit from listening more to the business community and health and social services to determine targets. “What is our capacity for integration? What does it mean ? Why don’t we have this debate? I think we are capable of having more than that. »
A strong opponent
Guillaume Cliche-Rivard does not deny that he has a strong adversary in the leader of the Liberal Party, Dominique Anglade, MNA for Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne since 2015. “She is a brilliant woman, and I will never be embarrassed to say. […] You have to have respect for others who decide, like us, to play politics, “he said, hoping for a respectful campaign with “constructive discussions”.
For him, there was no question of campaigning in another constituency. “There were no other options. This is where I live and where I opened my office, this is where I anchored myself,” explains the brand new father.
In addition to the issue of immigration, Mr. Cliche-Rivard says he wants to fight several battles for access to housing, a major problem in Saint-Henri, and public safety, a file that is resurfacing in the Southwest. He also wants to find ways to fight inflation, which affects the most vulnerable in the riding, and defend access to child care and health care. “In my work as an immigration lawyer, what I do is carry the voice of the most vulnerable, the voice of the voiceless. And that’s exactly what I want to do with the citizens of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, I want to champion their cause and defend them. »
In addition to Montreal solidarity MPs Ruba Ghazal and Andrés Fontecilla, the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, supported the candidacy of the lawyer, “a staunch defender of human rights, who has put his credibility and his experience in serving the most vulnerable.