Quebec Prime Minister François Legault received a “no” during his meeting with Justin Trudeau. Quebec will not obtain full immigration powers and continues to “study all its options.”
• Read also: Legault-Trudeau meeting: Quebec will evaluate its options
“No, we are not going to give more powers in immigration,” confirmed the Prime Minister of Canada following the meeting requested by François Legault.
Thus, nothing has been settled between Quebec and Canada regarding immigration.
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“Quebec already has more power in immigration than any other province, because it is very important to protect French,” added Justin Trudeau, maintaining that the meeting had been “constructive.”
Negotiations
Disappointed, François Legault reiterated that he was evaluating “all his options”, refusing to open his game publicly.
“The Quebec government is currently examining all its options to quickly reduce the number of asylum seekers and temporary workers. […] Currently when we see that we have reached 528,000 asylum seekers and temporary immigrants in Quebec, I think that everyone will agree that when we talk about the future of French, it is threatened,” illustrated François Legault. “So, it is important for the Quebec nation, full powers,” he said, because there is “an urgency to act.”
“Our reception capacity is exceeded. We lack teachers. We are short of nurses. We lack housing and that poses a real problem for the future of French in Quebec,” argued Mr. Legault.
The immigration agreement between Canada and Quebec can be reopened at any time. However, François Legault points out that this agreement contains advantages in terms of permanent immigration. “We want to be sure that in the negotiations with Ottawa, that we do not lose these powers, therefore that we do not move backwards,” he said.
Photo POOL PC, Christine Muschi
From the opening
Justin Trudeau, however, showed “openness” for many requests.
With regard to the reimbursement of $1 billion for the costs related to welcoming these migrants as requested by Quebec, a mandate will be given to the teams of the two prime ministers in order to calculate the costs and find common ground.
There could also be collaboration for a tightening of visas for foreigners who come to Quebec. The acceleration of processing in asylum seeker files will also be evaluated.
“Currently, we are talking about 18 months. I asked to see if it was possible to reduce that to six months, because we obviously need to provide services during this long period,” he indicated. “Mr. Trudeau also showed an openness for knowledge of French to become a requirement for temporary workers who are chosen by Ottawa.”
The two prime ministers will meet between now and June 30 to take stock.
During the last electoral campaign, François Legault even threatened to hold a sectoral referendum in order to force Ottawa to entrust all immigration powers to Quebec.
This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two men since December 2022.
“Embarrassing”
The leader of the Parti Québécois affirmed on the social network X that this refusal is “embarrassing” for Quebec. “We are better than this perpetual humiliation,” wrote Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
“This resounding “no” speaks of a completely absent balance of power. […] He must tell us now what his “options” are.”