A quartet of CAQ ministers added their voices this week to the crescendo of laments on the thorny issue of asylum seekers. Even if Quebec welcomes more than its relative share and pleads for better distribution, Ottawa responds timidly and lets the file drag on, which outrages and infuriates. Although basically the Legault government is absolutely right to note that it is close to overcapacity, beware of blunders in the way of delivering the message, because they could fuel intolerance.
This Tuesday, Ministers Christine Fréchette (Immigration), Jean-François Roberge (Canadian Relations), Bernard Drainville (Education) and Chantal Rouleau (Social Solidarity) rolled out a carpet of figures to demonstrate that Quebec receives more than its share of applicants asylum seekers entering Canada to the point where its ability to deliver the required services is compromised. “It’s bursting at the seams,” confided Bernard Drainville, no stranger to metaphors. In 2023, Quebec received more than 65,000 of the approximately 144,000 asylum seekers who entered Canada, or 45% of the total.
The closure of Roxham Road has not calmed anything down at all: firstly, long before this irregular entry was condemned, the majority of asylum seekers were already arriving through official entry points. And then the influx of migrants in search of a safe haven continues to grow.
The global trend will not slow down, warns the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In 2023, it recorded the highest number of humanitarian crises caused by conflict, human rights violations, natural disasters or extreme weather events, forcing the displacement of millions of people around the world. The UN agency does not foresee any slowdown in 2024.
Quebec is trying to convince Ottawa to better distribute entries by getting closer to its demographic weight within Canada (22%). In 2023, the quartet of Caquists affirmed this week, while Quebec welcomed 65,000 of these vulnerable immigrants, the four Atlantic provinces alone received… 380. “Despite all the generosity that drives us, our ability to deliver [des] services to asylum seekers are at their limits,” argued Christine Fréchette. Last resort financial assistance, educational and francization services, temporary accommodation and social and health care are among the services that Quebec must provide to this vulnerable clientele as soon as they set foot here.
This week’s press briefing had no shortage of drama. According to the ministers, we are approaching the breaking point in the provision of services, or even a humanitarian crisis. Questioned by a journalist, Mr. Roberge affirmed that the massive arrival of asylum seekers in Quebec could threaten Quebec identity. Last week, these migrants were causing the housing crisis. This Thursday, Prime Minister François Legault emphasized the fact that they were not coming to improve the situation of French. And to add a layer of opprobrium to the situation, Quebec decided on Wednesday to challenge in the Supreme Court the recent decision of the Court of Appeal which finally allowed access to subsidized daycare for asylum seekers. It’s very bad theater.
By crying too much about the abundance of asylum seekers — one of the most vulnerable immigrant clienteles, let’s not forget — is Quebec trying to make us forget that it nevertheless opens its doors wide to other immigrants, including foreign students and temporary workers? Two weights, two measures ?
We can, however, understand Quebec’s weariness and exasperation in the face of Ottawa’s inaction, which Quebec’s lamentations seem to annoy to the highest degree. But this should not make the Legault government lose all sense of proportionality. The speech of the week has nauseating reminiscences, and the Coalition Avenir Québec, which was criticized for having already made comments pointing more to the threats of immigration than to its wealth, had rather recognized that it had to uplift and let kindness prevail over prophecies of doom.
The delivery of this week’s message went off the rails. This distracts from the original intention, which is noble and sensible: that of bringing the Trudeau government to its senses.
He continues to superbly ignore all the requests from Quebec, which has been crying out for more than a year now for help to reimburse the expenses incurred. The bill now stands at more than a billion dollars. Quebec estimates that the federal government owes it 470 million for the social safety net offered to asylum seekers in 2021 and 2022, and it estimates the bill for 2023 at 576 million. Until now, Ottawa has reportedly agreed to 150 million, which is not in no way corresponds to expectations.
The status quo is untenable. Ottawa must take the strong action that has been demanded of it for a year.