Jacques Boissinot The Canadian Press “The objective is to get these people out of the margins and integrate them into the formal economy of Quebec to fight against the labor shortage,” said QS co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
Québec solidaire (QS) proposes to establish a regularization program for people without status who have been in the country for at least five years, but who currently reside in Québec, Le Devoir
has learned.
“The goal is to get these people out of the fringes and integrate them into Quebec's formal economy to address the labor shortage,” said QS co-spokesperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, during a telephone interview, Tuesday.
Families with at least one child would not, however, be subject to the criterion of arrival in the country for at least five years. Those residing in Quebec would be eligible for the program as soon as it comes into effect, said Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, immigration lawyer. The latter is also a solidary candidate for the by-election in Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne, on March 13, to fill the seat left vacant by the former Liberal leader Dominique Anglade.
According to Québec solidaire, the people targeted by the program would include former foreign students or former temporary workers whose permit or visa has expired, explained Mr. Nadeau-Dubois.
These people are vulnerable and often need help,” said Cliche-Rivard. “We have given ourselves laws and social protections, particularly in terms of housing and labor law,” he continued. Unfortunately, people who do not have papers do not have access to these mechanisms or remedies to defend their minimum rights. »
Ottawa is currently working on a program to regularize the status of undocumented workers who contribute to Canadian communities.
However, Quebec is best placed to know its immigration needs, argued Mr. Nadeau-Dubois. “There is no reason to wait for [Canadian Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau to set up a Quebec program to regularize people without status. »
The Quebec government would therefore establish the criteria for this program, which would be done jointly with Ottawa, just as the regularization of the “guardian angels” of the health sector during the COVID-19 pandemic was done, said Mr. Cliche- Rivard. “Unfortunately, the program was hyper restrictive. In the end, very few people were targeted,” he said apologetically.
With its proposal, QS would like to regularize a maximum of 10,000 people in the first year. This figure could be readjusted as needed in subsequent years. “The proposal would be made within the Quebec government's immigration thresholds,” said Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, however.
During the election campaign last year, his party offered to welcome between 60,000 and 80,000 immigrants on Quebec soil every year.
The plan tabled last December by the Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Christine Fréchette, maintains the target of approximately 50,000 new permanent residents in 2023.
With Lisa-Marie Gervais
Further details to follow
