(Ottawa) To the Bloc Québécois who accuses him of having “nothing [fait] pantoute” to increase the rate of acceptance of study permits for foreign students selected by Quebec, an issue that was raised about a year ago, the Trudeau government replies that it is doing better than before.
What there is to know
- The approval rate for French-speaking students from Africa has risen from 27% to 35% in one year, according to the Trudeau government.
- The Federal Department of Immigration has in the past attributed these high refusal rates to a “racism” problem.
- Prime Minister François Legault asks Ottawa to “reduce delays, paperwork and bureaucracy”.
“I would like to remind this House that the approval rate for French-speaking students from Africa has increased from 27% in 2022 to 35% this year,” said Marie-France Lalonde, who is the parliamentary secretary. Federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.
Verification made with the office of Minister Fraser, these figures actually cover the period from May 2021 to May 2022.
Nevertheless, the mention of statistics by MNA Lalonde was greeted with jeers in the Bloc benches, where the question came from. MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe once again called on the Ministry to stop “discriminating against foreign African students chosen by Quebec”.
Dissatisfied with the progress cited by his interlocutor, the elected official returned to the charge. “It’s even more infuriating, because this government spent the week playing the lesson giver to Quebecers,” he said, recalling that the phenomenon was not new.
“It was the same in 2020 and 2021, to the point where the Department of Immigration itself, last October, admitted that there was racism even within its own organization. What has changed since? Absolutely nothing. Nothing at all, ”proclaimed MP Brunelle-Duceppe.
Before a House of Commons committee on March 24, 2022, Sean Fraser argued that while there was “zero tolerance for racism, discrimination” within his department, these issues are widespread across the country. entire public service “and in [son] ministry”.
“There is still work to do”
The issue was revived by the publication of a study by the Institut du Québec (IDQ), which quantified the extent of the refusals. We learn that Ottawa refuses 47% of study permit applications to foreign students selected by Quebec and accepted by a Quebec university.
It is more the permit applications submitted by Francophones and African students that are rejected by the federal government. Refusal rates are twice as high for applications filed in French as for those in English, according to the study.
The federal government is aware that despite an improvement in the approval rate, “there is still work to be done,” assured Parliamentary Secretary Marie-France Lalonde. “We are doing everything we can to facilitate the entry of students,” she continued.
Quebec “wants to see results”
Liberal MP Monsef Derraji, official opposition spokesperson for immigration, francization and integration, denounced the “totally unacceptable” situation which particularly penalizes post-secondary institutions located in the regions, he recalled in a press release. .
Passing through Saint-Georges, in Beauce, Quebec Premier François Legault lamented that “the federal government […] refuses far too many” French-speaking foreign students. “We want to reduce delays, paperwork and bureaucracy,” he added.
Its Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Christine Fréchette, has met her federal counterpart a few times since taking office. Each time, the issue of French-speaking African students was discussed, indicated his deputy chief of staff, Alexandre Lahaie.
“He recognized that his department needed to do better. Now Quebec wants to see results,” he wrote in an email.
“The recruitment of French-speaking foreign students is a win-win situation for all of Quebec. They represent an ideal pool of immigrants: they speak French, live here during their studies and obtain a diploma recognized by Quebec,” added Mr. Lahaie.
The CAQ government will soon unveil its immigration guidelines for the coming years.
With Suzanne Colpron and Tommy Chouinard, The Press