(Quebec) The Legault government is preparing to appoint the very first French language commissioner, a new independent watchdog provided for in its reform of Bill 101. It has selected the candidacy of the philosopher and senior federal civil servant Benoît Dubreuil, co-author of the essay The imaginary remedy – Why immigration will not save Quebec, has learned The Press. However, a suspense surrounds this appointment, because it would not be unanimous in the National Assembly.
Barring a last-minute reversal, Prime Minister François Legault will propose the appointment of Mr. Dubreuil to the Blue Room this Friday, the last day of the short parliamentary session.
Under Bill 96 passed last spring, two-thirds of the House must approve his appointment – as is the case for a handful of important officers such as the Auditor General.
Even though the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) already has more than 66% of the members of the National Assembly, the government is trying to obtain the unanimous support of the opposition, or a broad consensus in the worst case, as the tradition. Discussions have taken place in recent days with the opposition parties, but there would not be unanimity, according to our information.
The Liberal Party of Quebec and Quebec solidaire did not want to react in an interview, while the Prime Minister’s office did not want to confirm or deny this information.
Benoît Dubreuil holds a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Montreal and a doctorate in the same field from the Free University of Brussels. He was previously a researcher at the Center for International Studies and Research at the University of Montreal (CÉRIUM). Under the Marois government, he was political adviser to the Minister of Higher Education, Pierre Duchesne.
Since 2016, he has held senior positions in federal agencies. After a few years at Indigenous Services Canada, he worked at the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. He is the acting director general of regional operations for the east of the country.
A “marginal impact”
In 2011, Benoît Dubreuil published with the demographer Guillaume Marois the book The imaginary remedy – Why immigration won’t save Quebec (Boréal), qualified as a shock test at the time. The authors argue that, contrary to what many think, raising immigration thresholds is not a miracle solution to the labor shortage and the aging of the population. The arrival of new arrivals had a “marginal impact” on these two phenomena.
PHOTO ANDRÉ PICHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Benoît Dubreuil (left) and Guillaume Marois, authors of the book The imaginary remedy – Why immigration won’t save Quebecin 2011.
Still according to them, “the impact on public finances is probably negative, immigrants receiving more fiscal transfers and paying less taxes”.
“Economically and demographically, Quebec does not need immigration,” they conclude. To say otherwise is to create expectations doomed to be disappointed. Quebecers must continue the debate on their immigration and integration policies, but set aside this argument once and for all. »
This argument is conveyed, according to them, in particular by the Liberal Party of Quebec – in power at the time of the publication of the essay – “for electoral reasons”.
“Despite the relative francization of immigration, support for the Liberal Party of Quebec remains proportionally stronger among immigrants than among natives. The government [libéral à l’époque] therefore has an objective interest in reducing the relative share of natives in the population”, they analyze.
A matter of weight
They also criticize the argument that immigration must be increased to maintain or increase Quebec’s weight within Canada. Because “we forget to mention that immigration […] at the same time reduces the relative weight of French in Quebec”.
The authors point out that “any increase in immigration has the direct effect of reducing the share of the population using French at home. Some will say that the language spoken at home is not an important indicator, that it is better to examine the “knowledge of French” or the use of French as a “working language”. However, whatever the indicator used, we come to the conclusion that immigrants use French considerably less than the native population”.
Benoît Dubreuil and Guillaume Marois doubt that we can set up “an ideal francization system, that is to say capable of bringing the immigrants we are currently receiving to a level of linguistic competence that would eliminate their disadvantage compared to to the natives”.
It remains only to find this system [de francisation idéal]. Obviously, we swim here in the dream. The government’s francization efforts are certainly commendable, but they can only give a helping hand to immigrants who are the most motivated to learn French.
Book’s extract The imaginary remedy – Why immigration won’t save Quebecpublished in 2011.
They deplore that, “for many, to criticize immigration policy” as they do “comes down to criticizing immigrants as people”, to saying that “Quebec does not need immigrants” or that immigration is “necessarily bad”.
They say they are “fierce supporters of better investment in integration policies and better monitoring of the economic performance of immigrants admitted to Quebec”.
New responsibilities
Under Bill 96, “the person proposed by the Prime Minister” for the position of French language commissioner “must have a sensitivity as well as a marked interest in the protection of the French language”. The mandate is for seven years and cannot be renewed.
The commissioner is responsible for “monitoring the evolution of the linguistic situation in Quebec”. In particular, it must “monitor the knowledge, learning and use of French by immigrants”.
The commissioner’s function is to “supervise respect for the fundamental rights” conferred by the Charter of the French language and “the fulfillment of the obligations” that it imposes on businesses and the public administration.
It has investigative powers and can intervene in court for the defense of French. It has the power to formulate opinions and recommendations to the Minister of the French Language, to the government and to the National Assembly.
A new Chief Electoral Officer
There will be another nomination to two-thirds of the House this Friday. The government and the opposition have agreed to appoint a new Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec (DGEQ). It will be Jean-François Blanchet, who already works at Elections Quebec, learned The Press. He was the deputy of the DGEQ Pierre Reid. However, the latter, aged 69, said openly in August that he had expressed to the government his interest in obtaining a renewal of his mandate, for a period of seven years. He said he didn’t want to retire anytime soon. “I really want to continue” the work, “the passion is there,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press. His wish is ultimately not granted.