Ottawa's decision to exceed Quebec's family reunification threshold is “a direct affront to the province's jurisdiction,” the Legault government claims.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced in a letter to his Quebec counterpart Christine Fréchette that he is now allowing his officials to exceed the immigration threshold for this category.
The minister says he has raised the issue of family reunification and immigration thresholds “several times in the past”.
However, given Quebec's refusal to “find a solution”, Marc Miller decided to process all permanent residence applications from family reunification applicants who had received a CSQ, even if the threshold for applications set by the Quebec government was met.
“I have decided to instruct my ministry to process permanent residence applications from family reunification applicants who have received a CSQ issued by your ministry, i.e.
The processing of these applications will be completed from today over a period of three years, it said.
Currently, Quebec's threshold for the family reunification category is instead 10,000 admissions per year.
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Delays too long
The minister particularly regrets the processing times for permanent residence applications in this category compared to other provinces.
According to his ministry, in the parents and grandparents category, these delays are 50 months, while outside Quebec they are 24 months. For the category of spouses and civil partners, they are 26 months in Quebec and 9 months elsewhere.
For spouses and civil partners living abroad, these periods are 34 months in Quebec and 12 months outside the province.
This difference in processing times “is the result of the mismatch between the number of applications received by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for this category for Quebec and the number of Quebec Selection Certificates (CSQ) issued by the ministry.” “Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) is an important measure that goes far beyond what the province sets out in its annual immigration plans,” estimates Marc Miller.
Quebec denounces
In a written response, Quebec's immigration minister strongly condemned Ottawa's decision.
“Minister Miller’s directive is a direct affront to Quebec’s jurisdiction. Quebec is the only country that sets its permanent immigration targets,” says Christine Fréchette.
The minister further stated that “the federal approach does not respect the will of the nation of Quebec.”
“This is unacceptable,” she wrote.
Ms. Fréchette argues that Quebec's immigration plan “was adopted in the National Assembly of Quebec in November 2023.”
“Our goals were adopted after parliamentary consultation and it is not up to Ottawa to force them on us. Such a decision would have a significant impact on permanent immigration thresholds in Quebec,” says Christine Fréchette.
“We are aware of the situation of families awaiting family reunification and are working on possible solutions.” In December, a first meeting was held with the Québec Réunifie collective to explore development options that respect the prerogatives of the Quebec government.” , emphasizes the minister.
In collaboration with Patrick Bellerose