(Montreal) While the Quebec government is asking the federal government to pay it 1 billion for asylum seekers, Quebec’s lieutenant in the Trudeau government, Pablo Rodriguez, invites it to discuss these questions at the right table and not through the media.
While in Montreal on Wednesday, for a press conference on another subject, Minister Rodriguez added that even if Quebec “talks about sums owed”, he sees it rather as “sums requested” from the federal government.
“That is negotiated and discussed around the table, not through media releases,” Mr. Rodriguez replied to François Legault’s government.
“For the current year, we are giving more than 750 million, 725 last year, more than 700 million each year,” he added.
The Legault government is demanding 1 billion, arguing that this is what it has cost it to welcome asylum seekers since 2021. The Quebec government complains of a lack of listening from the Canadian government.
“They are heard. We salute Quebec’s colossal effort. It is certain that Quebec is doing beyond its share,” said Minister Rodriguez.
The day before, the federal Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, had made a similar speech, in a written statement: “we recognize the pressures exerted in the province of Quebec and remain open to continuing the dialogue on the needs of the population and how we can work together on a path to the future.”
Minister Miller recalled in particular that the transfer of asylum seekers arriving via Roxham Road to hotels in Cornwall and Niagara Falls “has begun”, in order to temporarily reduce the pressure. “In total, 10,580 applicants were transferred from Quebec to other provinces,” he stressed.