Immigrants ask Quebec to reverse its freeze on immigration programs

In response to the freezes on immigration programs announced by the governments of Quebec and Canada, demonstrators came out in front of the Montreal office of the Quebec Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration to ask it to reconsider its decision.

Quebec is us too (LQCNA), an organization defending immigrants’ rights, argues that the decisions of both levels of government to limit their immigration thresholds, but more particularly the decision of the provincial, undermine all the steps taken by migrants already present on Quebec soil.

In order to limit the number of permanent immigrants to Quebec, the government of CAQ announced in October that it was going to freeze until next June the Quebec Experience Program graduate component and the regular Skilled Worker Program – which should become the Skilled Worker Selection Program (PTSQ) – by no longer accepting new applications for Quebec selection certificates (CSQ).

The same month, the federal government announced lowering its targets for permanent residents, as well as for certain temporary immigrants, namely foreign students and temporary foreign workers.

This is in addition to the frozen work permits closed in the Montreal region for low-wage jobs.

LQCNA therefore asks the government to put an end to the freezes on the issuance of closed work permits, the Qualified Worker Selection Program and the Quebec Experience Program for graduates and to guarantee the maintenance of these programs for the next five years.

In a press release published Saturday morning, LQCNA affirms that the measures announced will make impossible for thousands of people to renew their work permits, and to access permanent residence.

For migrants, the process of coming to Quebec constitutes a process of several months, if not several years, which sometimes amounts to the investment of a lifetime, recalls the organization which warns that these repeated reversals of the situation also risk putting a lasting damper on anyone who wishes to come to study or work in Quebec in the future..

Impacts here

Today’s demonstration is really to highlight the impacts of freezes on permanent immigration programsexplains Claire Launay, president of LQCNA in front of the ministry office. We understand that the government wants to make cuts to immigration, but what we want to make clear is that there are people who are already here who are affected by these problems. The news broke so suddenly.

The president, herself an immigrant and living in Quebec for nearly 15 years, reports that, when her organization spoke with the ministry, she was told that Immigration could not guarantee that the regulations would return to what it was at the end of the frost.

Present at the demonstration, Federico Benavides is a worker from Spain who has lived in Quebec for eight years now. The immigrant was already in despair at the length of the local bureaucratic process and the difficulty of the immigration procedures.

Now, the person who has patiently learned French since his arrival in Quebec is forced to make an express entry and plans to leave for Ontario. He tells the Quebec government: We play the game, but respect the rules.

A little further away in this small multicultural troupe, Amir Azad says that he made a lot of effort and spent a lot of money to immigrate to Quebec. This young graduate, who studied in English, learned French and passed language tests to have the right to submit his application for CSQ.

Previous regulatory changes made it eligible from November 23. He now confides that all his efforts have gone up in smoke and that he is considering changing provinces to be able to stay on Canadian soil.

The demonstrators criticize the government for not having taken into account people who have already started their immigration procedures. According to them, he should have made his reforms applicable only at a later date and from the first immigration procedures.