Quebec floats cutting services for non-permanent residents
Government to focus on reducing non-permanent residents in Montreal, Laval
Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge said he isn't ruling out the possibility of cutting services for non-permanent residents in the province if the federal government fails to halve its annual immigration targets.
At a news conference on Thursday, Roberge presented a report outlining the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government's potential immigration targets for 2026-29.
"If we're forced to make difficult decisions, we'll make them. We're not at that point yet, and we don't want to get there" Roberge said, underlining that the provincial government spent $500 million last year to support asylum seekers.
He added that the state of public services in the province is "unfair" to Quebecers "who pay taxes" and are already struggling to see family doctors and find housing.
The report describes three scenarios the government is considering to bring down the number of permanent residents from this year's target of 66,500. Thresholds could be lowered to 45,000, 35,000 or 25,000 over the next four years.
Roberge said that the government would focus its non-permanent immigration reduction efforts in Montreal and Laval to facilitate newcomers settling in regional areas, where French is less threatened. He said it also intends to prioritize current non-permanent residents for permanent residency.
Immigrants admitted through the Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires (PTET), which is currently suspended until Nov. 30, could decrease from 72,000 to 65,000 over the same period.
The government could decrease the number of international students from 128,000 to 110,00 by 2029, according to the document.
'Disconnect' between immigration targets, business sector
The CAQ government's proposed targets come on the heels of the Institut du Québec suggesting an increase in the number of new permanent residents to lessen the province's reliance on non-permanent residents.
The report by the Institut du Québec, published on Wednesday, outlines several scenarios, including one that suggested raising permanent immigration levels in the province to up to 90,000.
According to the institute's study, focusing on permanent immigration is preferable to temporary immigration since "people who choose to settle permanently make a greater contribution to Quebec society and the economy."
Véronique Proulx, president and executive director of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, said the ideas the CAQ government put forward today were surprising and disappointing.
"There's really a disconnect between what the government is proposing today and what the companies in the regions of Quebec, but also in Montreal and Laval, are asking for," Proulx said. "The number one thing they're asking for is more immigration. Temporary immigration but permanent immigration as well."
Arcelle Appolon, executive director of Maison d'Haïti in Montreal, said the government's immigration targets were "not realistic simply because for the past couple of years, the thresholds have not been respected."
Quebec is projected to accept 10,000 more permanent residents in 2025 than it planned because of immigrants who completed the Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ).
"We are quite aware of the reality of what happens when people come and when we hear their stories, we see that the [government] narrative that is currently in place differs greatly from what they're telling us," she said. "We do hope that the government chooses to re-evaluate their numbers and consider the experts' opinions on the topic."
Public consultations on the CAQ government's immigration plans will take place in August.
With files from Cathy Senay, Radio-Canada's Jérôme Labbé and the Canadian Press