For François Legault, the language spoken at home is fundamental to the survival of French. The Liberals accuse the Prime Minister of wanting to invite himself into the cottages.
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Two diametrically opposed visions clash in the National Assembly on the subject of immigration. And the shock is brutal.
“It is not up to Mr. Legault, it is not up to the government to say what language I use around my dinner table at home!”, railed Liberal MP Saul Polo on Wednesday. The day before, the Prime Minister described the successful integration story of this elected official of Colombian origin as “an anecdote”.
François Legault does not see things the same way. He persists and signs on his prediction that Quebec risks becoming a Louisiana if a large part of the immigration is chosen by Ottawa.
“The common language, you have to look at what is the language at home, what is the language at work, what is the language in the public sector, it is a whole. If there is no longer anyone in Quebec who speaks French at home, that means that French will eventually disappear,” argues the Prime Minister.
Family reunion
Despite numerous refusals from Justin Trudeau, the CAQ continues to demand that the federal government repatriate all powers over immigration.
Quebec selects economic immigrants, but also wants to have control over the family reunification program, which represents 28% of newcomers or about 14,000 people per year, but only half of whom speak French.
François Legault wants to increase the proportion of this immigration that speaks the language of Molière. But family reunification often involves children or elderly parents coming to join their families already established here. Can we really impose mastery of French on young people coming to join their mother?
“There is a question of judgement. If he’s a young child, we can’t require him to speak French. If it’s a 95-year-old, you have to be reasonable. Is it too much to ask when you bring your spouse, your father, your mother, your adult children, to ask them, before coming to Quebec, to learn French? I think it’s reasonable, ”he qualified.