With the departure of Guillaume Cliche-Rivard (GCR) from Québec Solidaire, the immigration debate has become more complex. But he immediately became stupidly polarized.
For several weeks we had the impression that a consensus was emerging. Canada and Quebec accept too many immigrants for the current infrastructure. Hence the crises in housing, classrooms and hospitals.
GCR and QS are right: we cannot make the newcomers the sole cause of these three problems.
The fact is that the study by Stéfane Marion and Alexandra Ducharme of the National Bank (titled “Canada is in a demographic trap”) was enough to shock any honest reader.
According to economists, Canada's population will increase by more than 1.2 million people in 2023. We would have to “go back to 1949, when Newfoundland joined the Federation, to see the population.” […] Increase of more than 600,000 people in a given year!”
evolution
This argument also forced the Trudeau Liberals, and after them those of Tanguay, to adapt their discourse.
“We should control the foreign student sector “a little bit,” admitted the Federal Prime Minister.
Marc Tanguay, on the other hand, said one thing and the opposite: a) The large number of newcomers puts “the public service” under pressure. The next day he clarified b) that it was not necessary to “turn off the tap”. The only problem? Government “poor planning”. Simply.
- Listen to the political meeting between Antoine Robitaille and Benoît Dutrizac QUB :
PQ leader Paul St-Pierre-Plamondon was overjoyed. Under the slogan “I told you so,” he claimed to have understood for two years that the current situation was due to Ottawa's migration policy, which amounted to an ideological “delusion.”
Cliche-Rivard wanted to answer; Restore “certain facts” or even tell “the truth” (no less) on the subject.
Nobody has the “truth”. Not even QS. However, GCR's interesting text was somewhat imaginative. Are all asylum seekers “real” refugees? When reading GCR the impression was yes. The same applies to foreign students, to whom GCR advocated unlimited generosity. However, according to Statistics Canada, 19% are not studying! They use diploma mills to settle here.
And the future of French? Not a word from GCR in his text. He should consult the liberal Monsef Derraji, who is insightful and eloquent on this issue.
PHOTO TOMA ICZKOVITS
Two traps
Under the guise of “removing the taboo” on immigration, some “continue to fan the flames of intolerance.” They exist, but not in our political class, it seems to me.
Second trap: inability to recognize the virtually unprecedented nature of the current migration phenomenon, for which no state planning would have been sufficient.
Fortunately, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois admitted this Thursday regarding temporary immigrants: “Is 500,000 too many? The answer is yes.”
It is in the nature of the partisan game that the parties insult each other. However, the common good would require that they try to solve the problem together. It's my turn to be angelic, I know that.