The next government of Quebec must not direct foreign students to regional universities with financial incentives that would disadvantage French-speaking institutions in the metropolis, asked Valérie Plante on Friday.
Posted at 11:03 a.m.
Such a program would harm the vitality of French in Montreal and “would, in a way, empty the French-speaking universities of Montreal,” she said. “You don’t have to undress Jean to dress Jacques. »
The mayoress was thus reacting to the projects of “regionalization” of immigration mentioned by several political formations since the beginning of the campaign. She was speaking at the election summit of the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ).
“That many immigrants go and settle in the regions, I think it’s a good idea,” said M.me Plant. But “promoting the arrival of foreign students in the regions to the detriment of Montreal, with financial incentives, for me, that goes against supporting the metropolis, the only French-speaking metropolis in North America. » Mme Plante said he wants to be “very vocal” on this issue.
Affordable Housing
Mme Plante also asked the aspiring premiers to commit to working harder for the development of affordable housing in the province.
“You really have to distinguish [d’avec le logement social] and we need to push governments to get involved,” she said. “If we want to guarantee the economic dynamism of our regions and our cities, that means accommodating our people. Because otherwise, we won’t make it. »
The mayor took the opportunity to subtly criticize the outgoing government, which wanted to shuffle the cards in the area by reforming the AccèsLogis program, which financed social housing projects. “We can transform all the programs in the world, but AccèsLogis does the job and there needs to be a major investment from the Government of Quebec,” she said.