Paris – There is a “humane” way to force half of asylum seekers to move outside Quebec, assures François Legault. And the idea of a sectoral referendum to repatriate immigration powers is still on the table.
In an interview to take stock of his Paris mission, the Prime Minister maintained his request to the federal government on Sunday, despite the strong reactions aroused in Quebec.
Especially since he says he has tested his concerns here with other governments, notably the French government. “I felt that I am not the only one concerned about the explosion in the number of asylum seekers,” he said.
“I am still calling on the federal government to halve the number of asylum seekers. So to go from 160,000 to 80,000,” he insisted François Legault.
“We cannot continue to have 160,000 asylum seekers in Quebec. This poses problems in terms of services and the future of French,” he adds.
This figure is, however, contested by the federal government, which puts it at less than 100,000.
Public support
Despite negative reactions from columnists and opposition parties, François Legault believes he has the support of the population. “I am quite convinced that the majority of Quebecers agree with me, we cannot keep so many asylum seekers in Quebec,” he said.
As for the means, he leaves it to the federal government to identify them.
“I think it’s up to the federal government to set criteria, to say: what do we do with a family that has been there for a year and a half, what do we do with a individual who just arrived two months ago?”, he illustrates.
“I think there is a humane way to do it,” assures François Legault.
In addition, Canada must take inspiration from France to reduce “delays for decisions, namely are they real asylum seekers or just tourists who want to spend a moment with us.”
François Legault states that this waiting time is currently 3 years in Canada, while France has increased it to 4 months.
Sectoral referendum
The CAQ Prime Minister makes immigration a fundamental issue to avoid a decline of French in Quebec. “The fight we are waging with Ottawa to reduce the number of temporary immigrants, including asylum seekers, I think is the most important action for the future of French,” he declares. .
“If we want to reverse the decline of French, it first involves reducing the number of immigrants, then the requirements for knowledge of French,” believes François Legault.
After shelving, last spring, his threat to hold a sectoral referendum to obtain more immigration powers, the Prime Minister was less categorical when questioned on the subject on Sunday.
He is first counting on the upcoming federal election to “call on all parties at the federal level to demand, among other things, that they halve the number of asylum seekers”.
“Then we do not exclude any means to succeed in convincing the federal government to finally act,” he said.
Even a sectoral referendum? “We’re not excluding anything,” he assures.
On the Quebec tramway
Siemens recently told the daily The Sun that he does not intend to contest the contract awarded to Alstom. Does this mean that the project can move forward? : “It is certain that if we did not need to make a new call for tenders, it would be faster. But at the same time, we will respect what the lawyers tell us,” says François Legault, without committing to a timetable for launching the work.
French-speaking content on digital platforms
Quebec will host, in May 2025, a conference of ministers of Culture and La Francophonie from the member states of the OIF in order to find a way to force digital platforms to give more space to content French speakers. François Legault relies on “strength in numbers” to negotiate with the giants in the field.
