Limit to family reunification in Quebec: “The only option is to move”

People separated from a spouse abroad consider the Legault government’s decision to reduce the number of family reunification applications processed by about half to be “inhumane.”

The only option left for me is to movesays Cynthia Bélanger, who has been waiting since 2022 to be reunited with her husband from Cuba. It’s clear there’s nothing keeping me here anymoreshe adds, discouraged.

In an interview with Radio-Canada, Ms. Bélanger bluntly mentioned the possibility of leaving Quebec, to sell my house here and move to another province to try to build something with my husband.

The reason? The decision of the Legault government, announced Wednesday in The Official Gazetteto impose a limit on the number of applications for sponsorship of a family member that it can receive.

Over the next two years, by June 25, 2026, it will process a maximum of 13,000 on a first-come, first-served basis, which represents a decrease of approximately 50% compared to the previous period.

Between 2021 and 2023, Quebec processed 26,416 files in the family reunification category.

We are stuck with the thresholds of Quebecdeplores Cynthia Bélanger.

The couple is part of the inventory of nearly 40,000 pending files. The average processing time for a situation like this, where someone wants to bring a spouse from abroad, is 34 months in Quebec, while it is 10 months in the rest of Canada.

I’ve been off work for four months now.explains Cynthia Bélanger, who intends to settle in New Brunswick.

We realize that the Quebec alternative is no longer valid.adds Sylvain Paquette, who is also waiting for his partner of Cuban origin, in his case since 2019.

After the refusal of a first request, he intended to file a new one, but it is no longer certain that the game was worth the effort. He is also considering moving, although he does not want to leave his job as a government employee.

I have a workplace that I love, with colleagues that I adore, but it seems incompatible with my private lifehe said. misfortune“to marry a person who was not born in Canada.”,”text”:”However, family reunification is for Quebecers like me, who were born in Quebec, who grew up in Quebec, who pay taxes in Quebec, and who had the “misfortune” of marrying a person who was not born in Canada.”}}”>However, family reunification involves Quebecers like me, who were born in Quebec, who grew up in Quebec, who pay taxes in Quebec, and who had the “misfortune” of marrying a person who did not come into the world in Canada.

According to him, Quebec is on the wrong track by holding missions abroad to recruit workers, when candidates for family reunification could contribute to society.

The family reunification part must be limited

At a press conference on Friday, François Legault ruled out the idea of ​​increasing admissions in this immigration category.

We must limit the number of permanent immigrants and the number of temporary immigrantsinsists the Prime Minister. 000[immigrants] per year and the family reunification part must be limited because we must be able to offer services to all these people.”,”text”:”We set our total at 50,000[immigrants] per year and the family reunification part must be limited because we must be able to offer services to all these people.”}}”>We set our total at 50,000 [immigrants] per year and the family reunification part must be limited because we must be able to offer services to all these people.

As he has done on numerous occasions in recent months, he underlined the pressure exerted by the flow of newcomers in schools, in the health network and in housing, for example.

If we want to be able to continue to offer housing, services and protect French in Montreal, we cannot accommodate more, including family reunification.

The office of the Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Christine Fréchette, argues that the number of admissions to family reunification remains stable, between 10,200 and 10,600.

Essentially, instead of processing new applications, Quebec will welcome people whose files were in the inventory, and therefore waiting for months, or even years.

000, the Minister will no longer receive requests except for certain specific cases \”outside the ceiling\””,”text”:”After reaching the maximum number of commitment requests estimated at approximately 13,000, the Minister will no longer receive requests except for certain specific cases \”outside the ceiling\””}}”>After reaching the maximum number of commitment requests estimated at around 13,000, the Minister will no longer receive requests except for certain specific cases “outside the ceiling”writes Christine Fréchette’s office.

These exceptions concern people who wish to sponsor a child under 18 in certain situations.

A new legal recourse?

Immigration lawyer Maxime Lapointe, who filed a lawsuit against Minister Fréchette in February due to long delays in family reunification, believes that the government is exposing itself to other legal recourse.

I think the courts will have to intervene to control the government which does more or less what it wants.he said.

The immigration thresholds put in place by the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) since its election in 2018 have created bottlenecks in several categoriesand, according to him, this will be the case once again with the new rules announced this week.

What is unfortunate is that we did not present this to the experts and citizens during the public consultations in September 2023, it was not in the scenarios.

Right now, there’s panic, he explains. People are calling the office, asking us: “Will this measure affect me?” We’re going to be very careful to explain to our new clients the ins and outs of a request in Quebec versus the rest of Canada.

People choose to live elsewhere to have processing times that are usual.

Me Lapointe, however, abandoned his pursuit in April since the plaintiff’s case which was the subject of the motion was settled.

Since then, another legal request has been filed by the Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers against Ottawa to force the federal government to process family reunification applications from Quebec at the same speed as those filed in the other Canadian provinces.