The CAQ is doing an about-face: after having hammered in the election campaign that an increase in immigration thresholds would be “suicidal”, François Legault now proposes to welcome more than 60,000 newcomers each year. The vast majority of them will have to master French, but the requirements will be modulated according to the professions.
• Read also: Immigration thresholds: Quebec is studying a scenario with 60,000 admissions
Significant increase in immigration thresholds
During the 2018 election campaign, the CAQ proposed reducing the thresholds to 40,000 newcomers per year. Then, last fall, François Legault said that welcoming more than 50,000 immigrants would be “suicidal”, in addition to fearing a “Louisianization” of Quebec.
Today, the Legault government is presenting two scenarios: the status quo or a gradual increase to reach 60,000 admissions in 2027. A decision will be made next fall, after consultations.
But beware, in this scenario, foreign students graduating in French in Quebec can also be admitted through the Quebec Experience Program, without working a year on Quebec soil as was the case since the reform of Simon Jolin-Barrette.
This new expressway could add approximately 8,000 people, for a total of 68,000 new permanent residents annually.
- Listen to the interview with Christine Fréchette, Minister of Immigration of Quebec on QUB radio:
Social cohesion
“Suicidal” approach, “Louisianization”, link between immigration and violence: the words of François Legault during the last election campaign clash with the new proposed thresholds.
But the Prime Minister believes that “everyone has understood” that his proposal to limit immigration was intended to “save the French”. “If we say: we have a scenario to go to more than 50,000, but by adding only people who speak French, basically, we achieve the objective I was aiming for,” says François Legault.
He assures that the portrait has changed since Ottawa opened the door to an increase in economic immigration to Quebec, without increasing the number of people welcomed in the other categories.
“The only reason is that the federal government is open to increasing economic immigration only,” he said.
Modulated requirements, depending on the profession
Whether or not Quebec goes ahead with raising the thresholds, the Legault government will revise its French language requirements.
Until now, candidates for the Regular Skilled Worker Program were selected based on a points grid. About 12% of them managed to be accepted without speaking French.
From now on, everyone will have to have a knowledge of the language of Molière.
But the requirements will be modulated according to the profession. Thus, a level 7 (similar to college) will be required for a management position or a computer network technician.
Dental assistants, babysitters and laborers, for example, may be accepted with only level 5 oral proficiency, with no written requirements.
“It was an important request to modulate these requirements in French because the levels of education are not all the same between the different job categories,” underlines the Minister of Immigration, Christine Fréchette.
300,000 temporary
Secondly, Quebec will table a new plan to also impose language requirements on temporary immigrants. Some 300,000 of them are currently on Quebec soil, either as workers with a limited permit or in higher education institutions.
A selection will be made when granting the Quebec Acceptance Certificate. “For now, the Government of Quebec does not require knowledge of French. So there is still room to act,” commented Prime Minister François Legault.
Moreover, he does not despair of seeking “additional powers” from Ottawa, including family reunification, despite the refusal of the federal government.
Like Couillard and Charest
The Parti Québécois did not hesitate to raise the contradictions between the discourse of the CAQ in the electoral campaign and the new targets announced Thursday. “We are normalizing the rates of Jean Charest and Philippe Couilard under the Liberal Party of Quebec, it’s done quietly,” said MP Pascal Bérubé.
Same story with the Liberals, where Monsef Derraji denounced the “discrepancy” between the promises of the CAQ and its actions once in power. “In fact, François Legault is ready to say anything in the election campaign and say the opposite once elected,” he said.
In Quebec solidaire, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard believes that the new version of the PEQ is a “disavowal” of the reform of Simon Jolin-Barrette during the last mandate.