Compensation for asylum seekers | The 581 million for Quebec in parliamentary limbo

(Ottawa) The check for $581 million is ready. But it cannot be sent to the Legault government until the deputies in the House of Commons have approved it by a formal vote.

The problem is that such a vote is impossible as long as the Conservative Party does not put an end to the delaying tactics that have paralyzed parliamentary work for about two months.

The check in question represents the last payment that Ottawa must make to Quebec to compensate it for the efforts made in recent years to welcome asylum seekers.

“The government can only spend public funds if Parliament gives it permission,” recalled the parliamentary budget officer, Yves Giroux, on Wednesday in a report which scrutinizes the additional spending of the federal government.

The uncertainty surrounding the payment of this sum comes at a time when Quebec Finance Minister, Eric Girard, must deal with a deficit of $11 billion during this fiscal year. The big financier of Quebec must present his fall economic statement on Thursday.

An end of session coming very quickly

Initially, Quebec demanded a sum of 1 billion. After several months of negotiations, the Trudeau government agreed to pay him compensation of 750 million. An initial sum of 169 million was given to him. The remainder of the amount to be collected was inserted into the supplementary estimates, unveiled without fanfare by Treasury Board President Anita Anand on Tuesday morning.

These new expenditures, which total 21.6 billion, must be approved before December 10. But it is far from certain that this will be done before this date, or even before the parliamentary session ends on Tuesday, December 17. Result: Quebec will possibly have, once again, to be patient before obtaining this money.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s political lieutenant in Quebec, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Jean-Yves Duclos, condemns the behavior of the Conservative Party especially as it penalizes Quebec.

The Minister of Immigration of Quebec, Jean-François Roberge, asked all federal elected officials to step up their efforts.

“After several months of demanding that Ottawa compensate Quebec for the massive arrival of asylum seekers, things are starting to move,” said Mr. Roberge in a written statement sent to The Press. We will continue to claim all amounts incurred for the services provided to asylum seekers, as well as those provided to Ukrainians. But in the meantime, the vote to confirm this payment must take place as quickly as possible. »

“Receiving too many asylum seekers represents colossal costs for Quebec. After the federal government’s commitment to reduce the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec by almost 100,000 and the imposition of knowledge of French, this is one more demonstration that the Trudeau government is starting to listen to reason and surrender to arguments of the Quebec government,” he added.

The filibuster continues

The work of the Commons has been at a standstill for two months due to the tabling of a privilege motion from the Conservative Party because the Trudeau government did not respect a request from the House, supported by the three opposition parties, to produce a series of documents related to a foundation – Sustainable Development Technology Canada – which was responsible for the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars for green technology projects.

This foundation was abolished in the spring following the publication of a devastating report from the Office of the Auditor General, which noted “significant failures” in its management and conflicts of interest affecting members of the board of directors. .

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have opened an investigation into this matter. And the Conservative Party is adamant that the government hand over the documents in question to the RCMP.

The speaking time granted in the case of a debate on a privilege motion is unlimited, and the Conservatives have committed to continuing debate on this motion until they win their case.

On Monday, Liberal House Leader Karina Gould said the Conservatives were “holding the government hostage,” noting that the government had handed over nearly 29,000 pages of documents. But on Tuesday, the Conservatives accused the Liberals of lacking transparency and of having withheld and redacted numerous pages.

The Conservative Party did not want to comment on the uncertainty surrounding the payment of $581 million to Quebec.