Mission in France | Legault wants to force half of asylum seekers to leave Quebec

(Paris) Half of the 160,000 asylum seekers present in Quebec should be forced to move to another province, demands Prime Minister François Legault.

Immigration is one of the issues at the heart of his mission in Paris this week. On Tuesday, he asked that Ottawa take inspiration from France and create “waiting zones” for asylum seekers in different provinces in order to reduce pressure on Quebec and better distribute them across the country.

He will discuss it on Thursday with French Prime Minister Michel Barnier. The latter precisely addressed the issue of asylum seekers in France in his general policy speech on Tuesday to the National Assembly, a roadmap for his mandate.

During a press scrum after a meeting with Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot, François Legault deplored that “everything that is proposed by the federal government” to distribute asylum seekers “fairly”, “c ‘is on a voluntary basis for asylum seekers and on a voluntary basis for the provinces.’

“What we want is for half of the asylum seekers currently in Quebec to be transferred to other provinces, and that is the responsibility of the federal government. They can take inspiration from France,” he said, while saying that he does not claim that the government has “found all the solutions”.

Asked whether it should be obligatory for asylum seekers to leave Quebec for another province, he answered in the affirmative. “What I want is for there to be results. So, yes, let it be mandatory. But it’s up to the federal government to manage that. »

He argued that “it is not logical that (Quebec) received 45% of asylum seekers while Quebec represents 22%” of the Canadian population.

And how would we force asylum seekers to leave for another province? “It is up to the federal government to look at what is being done elsewhere and find solutions. »