François Legault no longer has the excuse of clumsiness for his remarks and those of his colleagues on immigration.
For the head of the CAQ, it would be “suicidal” for the Quebec nation to welcome more than 50,000 immigrants. These are words that add to the threat to peace and social cohesion, as well as to a possible “Louisianization” of Quebec.
I hope he is not using the same numbers as his immigration minister to make up his mind.
Jean Boulet maintained last Wednesday that “80% of immigrants go to Montreal, do not work, do not speak French or do not adhere to the values of Quebec society”.
It was not an unknown post candidate who made these remarks. It’s the Minister of Immigration. He is the one who should know that 80% of immigrants settle in GREATER Montreal, that 62% work and that more than 80% can have a conversation in French.
He should also know that immigrants must pass a values test before obtaining their Quebec Selection Certificate.
It was his government that put this test in place.
So when he says that 80% of immigrants do not respect Quebec values, where does that come from?
Apologies, but…
Mr. Boulet apologized a week too late, saying the excerpt did not reflect his thinking. But when the words a minister uses are not what he means!
On the Mario Dumont show, on LCN, François Legault admitted that Mr. Boulet had “disqualified” himself and will no longer be Minister of Immigration.
That’s the lesser of it. Remember all the same that when François Legault says that “immigration is a wealth”, he always adds a “but”.
What is the CAQ strategy?
Either the CAQ uses immigration as a scarecrow to change the subject.
The battle over immigration thresholds overshadowed much more important issues during this campaign such as mental health, gun violence in Montreal or education.
A young woman committed suicide after being abandoned by the health system. She was not the only one to suffer without receiving adequate care.
About one out of five Quebecers between the ages of 16 and 65 is illiterate. Half of our schools are in poor condition. There is a lack of teachers and specialists. And this is anything but an exhaustive list.
It’s much more important to the survival of our nation, right?
Either the government judges that it has electoral gains to make by dividing the population.
The survival of French will always be a crucial issue in Quebec. Blaming immigrants is really not the solution.
In both cases, it is humans who are instrumentalized. People who came to Quebec to lead a better life and who want to contribute to Quebec society.