According to François Legault's government, the massive arrival of asylum seekers has not only cost more than a billion dollars in three years, but also poses a risk to “Quebec's identity.”
“Yes, there are things that are threatened, there are services that are threatened, there is a way of life that is threatened if the numbers go up [de demandes d’asiles] are too big. It must be named,” said CAQ Minister Jean-François Roberge on Tuesday morning. Asked about the risk of Quebec's identity being compromised, the elected official in charge of the French language added: “It could happen.”
In addition to Mr. Roberge, the Quebec government sent three ministers to a major press conference at Parliament House. The goal: to reiterate the “urgency” of the situation and to make new financial requests to Ottawa related to the reception of asylum seekers. According to Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette, the amounts demanded by the federal government increased from one to double last year.
Yes, there are things that are threatened, there are services that are threatened, there is a way of life that is threatened as the numbers rise [de demandes d’asiles] are too big.
For 2021 and 2022, Quebec expected $470 million from the federal government to offset services for asylum seekers. For 2023 alone, 576.9 million would have been added to the total. Although part of these amounts is currently being reimbursed – about 15%, said Minister Fréchette – the government of François Legault is using it to calculate the expenses incurred in receiving asylum seekers over the last three years.
“Despite all the generosity that drives us, our ability to deliver [des] “Services for asylum seekers have limits,” thundered Minister Fréchette at a press conference. At his side, Minister Roberge spoke of a possible “humanitarian crisis”. “This can’t continue,” he said.
“Integration capacity” is threatened
Last year, almost half of asylum seekers arriving in Canada crossed the border through Quebec. According to Le Devoir's calculations, which take into account interprovincial traffic, this figure is closer to 35% for 2023, but remains higher than the share of Quebec's population in Canada. Quebec is therefore calling for some of these immigrants to be relocated to other provinces.
If this does not happen, said Minister Roberge, Quebec's “integration capacity” could be weakened. “We have always been a welcoming society. We want to remain one, but there is a capacity to absorb, there is a capacity to integrate into Quebec citizenship,” the elected official said, while denouncing the “passivity” of Justin Trudeau's government.
Education Minister Bernard Drainville, present on Tuesday, reiterated that Quebec's school network is approaching a “breaking point.” “We have reached a point where we cannot rule out that at some point we will no longer be able to train the young asylum seekers who come to us,” he said.
According to calculations by the Ministry of Education, there are currently “1,237 francization classes in Quebec, which, very conservatively, is the equivalent of 52 primary schools.” Minister Drainville's office was once again concerned on this issue, clarifying that this applies to all classes of francization and all immigrants count together. “A large proportion are asylum seekers,” it said.
Canada was already “there”
When Prime Minister François Legault approached him before question time on Tuesday, he repeated the government's request to his federal colleague. “I'll try to meet up [Justin] Trudeau soon, but we can’t go on like this anymore,” he said, without stopping to address the media.
Across Canada, on the sidelines of a press conference on housing, Prime Minister Trudeau recognized “the extent to which Quebecers….” [avaient] “I was there to generously accept asylum seekers,” but did not want to commit to releasing new funds.
“Strengthening our immigration system is critical to a strong future in Quebec and elsewhere, but it must be done appropriately,” Mr. Trudeau added from Vancouver, assuring that his government has already “been there” for Quebec.
Asked about the government's comments on Quebec's identity, Stephan Reichhold, director of the Table de Concertation des Organizations Servicing Refugees and Immigrants, said Tuesday he was “a little surprised.” “We call on the government to be a little more nuanced in its comments. It’s really a speech that focuses a lot on fear,” he said. The interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, Marc Tanguay, also denounced a “non-binding declaration”.
In the morning press scrum, Quebec Solidaire co-spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois called on the federal government to “do more” while encouraging Quebec to quickly issue work permits “to enable these people to work.”
Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon regretted the CAQ government's exit amid an “unprecedented social crisis.” “The CAQ is lying to itself,” he thundered. “She knows that she sends letters and then makes requests on her knees [Ottawa], it can't work because they have bad intentions, they are disloyal. »
With Lisa-Marie Gervais and Sandrine Vieira