Ottawa allocates millions to Quebec, promising faster asylum processing and better refugee distribution
Ottawa will provide Quebec with $750m to manage the influx of temporary immigrants, while also committing to faster processing of asylum claims and better distribution of refugees across Canada, according to The Canadian Press.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault announced these measures in Quebec City, responding to Legault's request for federal support.
Legault initially sought $1bn to cover costs from 2021 to 2023 due to the surge in temporary immigrants. Although he received three-quarters of that amount, Trudeau did not specify how many asylum seekers and temporary immigrants would be reduced.
“What is urgent is to substantially and quickly reduce the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec,” Legault said. “At least the federal government is telling us they recognize there’s a problem. They even recognize that they have to act quickly in the short term in a significant way. But they refuse to give numbers.”
Legault expressed concerns about the 560,000 temporary immigrants in Quebec, nearly double in two years, straining social services and threatening the French language. He aims to cut the number of asylum seekers in the province by half.
Trudeau stated that Quebec needs to present a plan before he commits to specific numbers. “Quebec has direct or indirect control over more than half of temporary immigrants in Quebec,” Trudeau said.
“So to have targets to reduce immigration, if that’s what Quebec wants, they have to present a plan to reduce or to adjust their numbers to respond to their needs. That’s what I asked Mr. Legault.”
He cautioned against blaming immigrants for housing shortages and social service strains. “I think that we see across the country there are a lot of challenges regarding social services, housing, health care, for which immigrants can’t receive all the blame,” Trudeau said.
“Canadians know well that it’s not always the best thing to target and say everything is the fault of immigrants. It’s something some people use in their arguments, but it’s always more complex than that.”
Ottawa will also expedite asylum claims processing and collaborate with other provinces to redistribute refugees. Quebec has welcomed over 230,000 asylum seekers since 2017, representing 50.7 percent of all would-be refugees in Canada, despite only accounting for 22 percent of the population.
The federal government aims to process at least 20 percent of asylum claims within nine months, down from the current 18 months. Ottawa also plans to improve the visa system's integrity and ensure more temporary foreign workers speak French.
By October, they aim to issue work permits to asylum seekers within 30 days of arrival, compared to the current processing time of over 100 days.
“We proposed faster processing of asylum claims, transferring people to other provinces, to improve the visa system and to increase the speed of removals for those whose claims are not successful,” Trudeau said. “These are all the elements we’re already working on to relieve the pressure on Quebec a little bit.”
