Immigration threshold | The PQ wants an “objective and serene” debate, without polarization

(Quebec) Five months before the elections, the debate on immigration has been reignited: the Parti Québécois (PQ) opposes the request of employer groups to move to the current reception of 50,000 immigrants per year in 80,000 rather, or even 90,000.

The separatist formation first calls for a “serene” discussion, based on “factual and scientific” data.

PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is thus reacting to the concerted exit of several business associations, including the Conseil du patronat and Manufacturiers et exportation du Québec, which are calling for a considerable increase in the annual immigration threshold in order to fill the scarcity of labour.

In an interview with The Canadian Press published on Sunday, the leader of the PQ maintains that despite the constant increases in the number of immigrants admitted to Quebec over the past 30 years, the demand for workers has not yet diminished. The so-called solution has therefore not solved the problem, according to him.

Moreover, the considerable increase requested would only increase the demand for services, whether for family doctors, places in Early Childhood Centers (CPE), or even housing, raised the specialist lawyer. in immigration Stéphane Handfield, who is a PQ candidate in Masson in the October elections.

“Are we doing a service to new immigrants if we don’t take these issues into account in our reception and integration capacity? he asked.

Science over ideology

“We want a debate based on science and not on ideology or false premises,” said Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.

He therefore calls for caution to avoid any slippage in this debate, which has had unfortunate precedents.

“Historically, we have poured a lot into ideology and stigmatization” on the issue of immigration and this ends up harming the “right of Quebec to be able to take its own directions”, believes the independence leader.

As soon as Quebec does not align itself with the Canadian federal model aimed at admitting ever more newcomers, it is accused of being racist even though immigration is partly within its jurisdiction, he laments.

Questions

The leader of the Parti Québécois asks many questions. Among other things, does welcoming more immigrants create more wealth, truly increase gross domestic product per capita?

“We want to study the macro-economy objectively,” he insists, calling for other answers.

What is the impact of an increase in immigration on linguistic dynamics? What is the impact on the housing crisis? Does this lower the average age of the workforce?

“I have never seen a study that says this is why we need 30,000 or 40,000 immigrants, or this is how we manage to justify this figure”, raised Stéphane Handfield for his part.

“How much does the integration of each immigrant cost? ” he asks.

However, “we are always told the same thing: 80,000 immigrants a year and all the problems will be solved”.

Currently, there are no fewer than 240,000 vacancies to be filled in Quebec, according to data from the Institut du Québec.

Employer associations are calling for catch-up in immigration to make up for the scarcity of labor and the delay due to the closing of borders during the pandemic.

Their consensus is 80,000 per year, but the president of Manufacturers and Exporters, Véronique Proulx, would be ready to go up to 90,000. This is almost double the current threshold of 50,000 per year.

The Legault government has not given its official response. But the PQ sets its bar where?

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon reiterates that he is committed to setting the acceptable threshold for his training between now and the election campaign.

During the 2018 election campaign, the Coalition avenir Québec denied the labor shortage and pledged to reduce the immigration threshold, with the slogan “take less, but take care of it”. The immigration threshold had first been reduced, then had been adjusted again upwards.