The federal government does not show favoritism, responds Ottawa to the Premier of British Columbia, David Eby, who did not hide his annoyance to see that money intended for immigration was “poured” on the Ontario and Quebec “in contempt” of Western Canada.
“There is no favorite province for the federal government” which distributes funds in an “equitable” manner, assured the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, Tuesday upon her arrival at the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers , taking the word from a journalist’s question.
In the same corridor, Justin Trudeau’s lieutenant for Quebec, Pablo Rodriguez, explained that the offer of $750 million to compensate the province for the costs of increasing the number of temporary residents aims to recognize that “Quebec has done more than that.”
“If we look at the figures, it’s obvious,” continued Mr. Rodriguez. If other provinces do the same, we will look at that. »
Also called upon to speak out, the co-president of the Liberal campaign and MP for Hochelaga, Soraya Martinez-Ferrada, also called for recognition that Quebec is “the province which has received the most asylum seekers anywhere in the country” and that she must be supported in this welcome.
On Monday, Prime Minister Eby expressed his “frustration” with the amounts paid to Quebec. It was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he said, believing that his province should also get a share.
British Columbia government figures show there were 475,778 non-permanent residents in the province as of 1er January, an increase of approximately 84% compared to 2022.
Quebec Premier François Legault previously said the number of temporary residents in the province — including asylum seekers, students and workers — had “exploded” to 560,000, a number that he said him, has doubled in two years, putting a strain on social services.
Mr. Legault said he was disappointed by Ottawa’s offer. He had requested $1 billion to cover costs associated with the increase in the number of temporary residents.