In order to increase immigration to the regions, Québec solidaire proposes to create a “fast lane” intended for students and temporary workers who have already studied or worked in one of the regions of Québec.
” The most important [en immigration], it’s not the numbers, it’s the model,” said chef Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, during an announcement in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. In addition to his local candidates, the young politician was accompanied by immigration lawyer Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who wears the colors of the party in the riding of Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne.
The new model advocated by QS relies on the creation, “everywhere in the territory”, of immigration reception hubs called upon to guide aspiring immigrants in their efforts.
Solidarity also undertake to “invite” all people registered on the Arrima platform who already have “experience” in the region. The reform of the Quebec experience program (PEQ) developed by the CAQ government would also be cancelled.
“There are plenty of temporary workers who already live in our regions, who want to settle down for good. But right now, it’s too complicated,” said Mr. Nadeau-Dubois.
Finally, QS would inject an additional $230 million per year into francization in the workplace and would give each immigrant $200 “culture tickets” in order to promote their integration by introducing them to Quebec culture.
Remember that the left-wing party is calling for between 60,000 and 80,000 immigrants to be welcomed annually in Quebec, the highest threshold submitted by the five main candidate parties in the election.
Critics of this approach argue that recruiting too many immigrants will not necessarily solve the labor shortage and that the already weakened public services will not be able to meet their needs.
Asked about this, Mr. Nadeau-Dubois replied that this is what is happening now anyway with temporary workers. “Right now, we are including more temporary workers and it takes just as much housing and services. On the other hand, we leave them in a continual precariousness which means that slowly but surely we will lose them”.
Temporary workers also in the sights of the Conservatives
The Conservative Party also made proposals on Sunday regarding temporary workers. In particular, it undertakes to negotiate with the federal government in order to reduce processing times for files submitted by the agricultural producers who hire them.
We should also remember that the PCQ, like all the other parties, wants Quebec to repatriate its full powers in matters of immigration.
The training led by Éric Duhaime unveiled on Sunday a platform of about ten pages dedicated specifically to agriculture and rurality. She was presented to the media by her candidate in Côte-du-Sud who is a dairy producer, Frédéric Poulin.
The document notably defends the emphasis on local production and what are called “short circuits”. He also suggests the creation of a “support agency” within the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whose mandate would be to offer “benevolent support” to producers in their efforts to comply with environmental regulations.