‘Bill 21 is a pedestal on which we must build’: Quebec nationalists mull what comes next

2019/12/19 Leave a comment

“Cultural convergence” vs interculturalism vs multiculturalism. More semantics than substantive, as when even this group defines the first term, many common elements of civic integration with the other terms emerge. Of course, many of the specific policy proposals discussed are distinct in terms of immigration levels, language laws, and religious diversity:

Fresh off the victory of passing Bill 21, the province’s secularism law, Quebec’s nationalist movement is already strategizing on how to use it as a beachhead to launch a multi-pronged attack on Canadian multiculturalism.

Many of the movement’s leading intellectuals met last month at a conference in Montreal.

“We’ve won a battle, the first in a while,” said the opening speaker, Étienne-Alexis Boucher, a former Parti Québécois MNA and president of the Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois.

“But only the first of many more, I hope.”After “15 years of Liberal submission” — Boucher’s words — Quebec nationalists feel they finally have an ally in Premier François Legault and his Coalition Avenir Québec government.

It’s time, they say, to take advantage.

The November conference was organized by the Institut de recherche sur le Québec, a think tank founded in 2002 that studies ‘the Quebec national question.’ Its head of research is right-wing pundit Mathieu Bock-Côté.

For the occasion, Bock-Côté assembled a slate of thinkers who have pushing a nationalist agenda in the media, in academia and in politics. Many have ties to the PQ.

Those speakers included Dawson College history teacher Frédéric Bastien, who has been musing about running for the PQ leadership, and Guillaume Rousseau, a Université de Sherbrooke constitutional law professor who advised the CAQ government on Bill 21 after running unsuccessfully for the PQ in the last election.

The day-long session at the Université du Québec à Montréal, which attracted about 100 people, offered some clues to where nationalists are hoping to make gains during Legault’s mandate.The participants batted around proposals to beef up Quebec’s language laws, cut immigration levels and eliminate all instruction on comparative religions from the school curriculum.

But the road ahead will not be easy, they warn, especially with dyed-in-the wool federalist Justin Trudeau occupying 24 Sussex Drive.

“Clearly the federal regime will try to dismantle Bill 21, like how it methodically attacked Bill 101,” said Boucher, “but we will be there to fight back.”

“Bill 21 is a pedestal on which we must build.”

Who wants to re-open Bill 101?

The day’s discussions, naturally, began with language — and how to reverse what is seen as a decades-long erosion of the supremacy of French in the province, on the island of Montreal and beyond.

On a table near the auditorium’s entrance, copies of the 35-year-old nationalist, left-wing publication L’aut’journal (“the other newspaper”) warned of the “balkanization of Quebec,” in capital letters, above a map of the Liberal-red islands of Montreal and Laval, all but surrounded by a sea of blue.

Frédéric Lacroix, a contributor to the newspaper, pointed to data showing that francophones, as a proportion of their demographic weight in the province, are in a steady decline. Montreal is basically a lost cause, he said. Laval, too, is far gone.

“Laval is a case study of what’s happening in the Montreal region,” Lacroix said, warning these changes have political consequences.

“We see that the Quebec Liberal Party took almost all the seats in Laval,” he said of the 2018 provincial election. “It’s something that would have been unimaginable only 15 years ago.”

His fellow panelist, lawyer François Côté, said the solution to the language problem starts with ditching English as an official language in laws passed by the National Assembly.

Since a 1979 Supreme Court decision, legislation in Quebec must be adopted in both French and English.

That sets a bad example for immigrants, Côté said.

“What’s the point of learning French,” he asked, “when even the state, the top of the national pyramid, expresses itself in French and English?”

Côté even floated the idea of defying the Supreme Court ruling if Ottawa wasn’t willing to allow Quebec to work around it.

“Courts are not gods,” he said.

And he said it is time to strengthen the enforcement arm of the Office québécois de la langue française, derided by many Anglos as the “language police.”

“The OQLF must imperatively grow some teeth,” Côté said.

Immigration as ‘demo-linguistic suicide’

The idea that the survival of the historic francophone majority is at stake is perhaps expressed most starkly in Jacques Houle’s book, Disparaître? (To Disappear.)

Now in its third printing, the book has turned into an unexpected hit for the retired federal bureaucrat who lectures to seniors in the continuing education program at the Université de Sherbrooke.

When Bock-Côté, who wrote the book’s preface, took to Twitter saying Disparaître? should be mandatory reading for nationalist leaders and militants, PQ interim leader Pascal Berubé tweeted back, “I have this book.”

Houle argues that unless current immigration levels are slashed from 40,000 per year (the figure was 50,000 under the previous Liberal government) to 30,000 per year, by the turn of the century Quebec’s French-speaking majority will be in the minority, committing “demo-linguistic suicide.”

“We can’t separate immigration from population growth and the health of the French-speaking majority,” said Houle at the November conference.

Houle also attacked what he called “myths” used to justify higher immigration levels.

He claimed that over time, immigrants take more, on average, from social programs like unemployment insurance than they contribute in taxes, and that accepting refugees for humanitarian reasons is “insignificant” in the face of the global challenge of coping with another two billion people by 2050.

Houle had particular disdain for business groups who see higher immigration levels as a way of resolving Quebec’s critical labour shortage. According to Houle, the jobs that go unfilled are undesirable and underpaid.

“Why do immigrants not take these great jobs in an abattoir or at McDonalds in Val-d’Or?” he asked sarcastically. “Because the jobs we’re offering them are the ones that people here don’t want.”

Houle said higher immigration provides employers with a pool of cheap labour that keeps wages down and compensates for high turnover in undesirable jobs.

That argument is similar to one Legault made as he faced a firestorm of criticism from the business community for his cuts to the Quebec Experience Program last month — a program that fast-tracked foreign students and temporary workers on the path to immigration.

In the face of that barrage of criticism, those reforms were walked back, for now.

Even talking about immigration levels has become taboo, Houle told CBC.

“It’s been decided, probably by political economic elites, that immigration is, per se, advantageous,” he said.

He wants Quebec to lower its annual intake of immigrants to be more in line with the per-capita immigration rates in Europe and the U.S.

“This is the price to pay if we want to conserve the [linguistic] majority,” Houle said.

Religious culture courses targeted

Tied in to immigration and language issues for conference delegates is a deep-seated concern about the impact of the ethics and religious culture courses (ECR) that have been mandatory in the province’s schools since 2008.

The ECR program is intended to give children the skills to weigh ethical questions, understand Quebec’s religious history and the broad strokes of different religious belief systems present in contemporary Quebec society, and to engage in dialogue.

The curriculum has been criticized by some as too relativistic, and it’s long been a favourite punching bag for nationalists who worry the program promotes official multiculturalism.

One of those critics is Joëlle Quérin, a CEGEP teacher from Saint-Jérôme, whose 2009 paper, The Ethics and religious culture course: transmission of knowledge or indoctrination? was also published by the Institut de recherche sur le Québec.

In the essay, Quérin says the ECR course “aims explicitly to radically transform Quebec by reprogramming it with the ideological software of multiculturalism” and creates a purely civic notion of Quebec society, unmoored from history or cultural specificity.

Speaking to the panel 10 years after her paper’s publication, Quérin said the course’s “ideological character” has been confirmed, and the damage has been done.

She cited a November 2018 Leger poll that showed what she calls the “ECR generation” is the only one that doesn’t disapprove of teachers wearing religious signs. She said recent data from Radio-Canada’s Vote Compass election project showed 18- to 24-year-olds are the generation most opposed to Bill 21.

Quérin says this puts Legault’s government in an untenable position: on the one hand, it has adopted a law that bans religious symbols for government workers in positions of authority, but on the other hand, it continues to require students to take a course that leads many young people to believe the law is an affront to fundamental rights.

“If the premier is serious when he says, ‘In Quebec, this is how we live,’ maybe he should talk to his minister of education,” Querin said.

What would replace multiculturalism?

Rousseau, the Sherbrooke law professor, would also like to get rid of the ECR and wants to persuade the province to adopt a framework law on what he calls “cultural convergence,” which he argues would be Quebec’s answer to Canadian multiculturalism.

The idea, he says, would be to enshrine the notion of a common language and culture that immigrants would be encouraged to eventually adopt as their own.

“What we are saying is that there are many cultures, but one of them is very important and has a special place: French-speaking Quebec culture,” Rousseau said.

He says it’s not assimilation, because he sees that common culture as malleable and expects different cultural communities to add to it and alter it over time.

Rousseau also sees Bill 21 as an example of that “cultural convergence” — he points out that some Quebecers of North African descent, for example, support the bill along with the French-Canadian majority.

“We have a different way of seeing this issue in Quebec,” he said, warning the rest of Canada to tone down the rhetoric against the popular law.

“I think it’s just making people in Quebec feel like they should support Bill 21 even more because they’re being called racist,” said Rousseau.

Nationalist and proud

As the microphone cables were wrapped up and the coffee carafes carted away on Nov. 2, there was no clear consensus as to what should happen next, but a common sentiment united the divergent panelists and audience members: nationalists are slowly reconquering Quebec’s political space.

The loose-knit group of academics, writers, old-school Péquistes, social democrats, immigration hawks and retirees had differed on many things, but not on Bill 21, which was seen as a symbolic affirmation of their nation’s right to chart its own social course.

Having a premier who isn’t ashamed to call himself a nationalist is for them more than just a way to pass legislation, it is a sign that Quebec is pushing back against the “federal regime” and its multicultural tenets.

“Sometimes the stars align,” said Côté.

Source: ‘Bill 21 is a pedestal on which we must build’: Quebec nationalists mull what comes next

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Amid political gamesmanship, some Quebec Muslim women enticed by offer to move to Manitoba

2019/11/30 Leave a comment

Cheeky of Manitoba but Premier Pallister has been one of the most principled Canadian politician on Bill 21:

As a political spat plays out between Manitoba and Quebec over Bill 21, some Muslim women affected by the province’s ban on religious symbols say they are tempted by the offer to move to the Prairie province.

“If this persists, and as a result of this there are more hate crimes against me and my people, then why wouldn’t I? Why wouldn’t I go somewhere where I feel welcome?” said Chaachouh, who wears a hijab.”I know that if I go there, they will look at my skills rather than what I am wearing on my head.”

The ad campaign launched Thursday is aimed at Quebecers who feel limited by the province’s secularism law, which prohibits public servants in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols. These include the hijab, skullcap and turban.

In a nod to Bill 21, the ad lists 21 reasons why Manitoba is an appealing place to move, ranging from its diverse population to its plethora of provincial parks.

There isn’t, in fact, much history of movement between the two provinces. In 2018, for example, only 341 people moved from Quebec to Manitoba (and 799 went the other way).

A better solution: no Bill 21

Chaachouh is under no illusions a government ad means she would be safe from discrimination in Manitoba.

At the very least, though, Chaachouh said it is encouraging to see a province take a stand against the legislation, while Ottawa has shied away from doing the same.The Manitoba government’s campaign was dismissed as a political ploy by Premier François Legault and much of the opposition in Quebec City.

Legault said Bill 21 will ensure secularism in the public sector, and that the law is “a decision to be taken by Quebecers and Quebecers only.”

But Shahad Salman, a lawyer who runs a public relations firm in Montreal, said the message appealed to her as well.

“The fact that they used 21 reasons — that made me laugh,” she said.

“I think it’s an interesting move from another province: They take something bad happening somewhere else and turn it into a good thing for them.”

Salman, 32, said she would consider such a move. But a better solution? “Not having Bill 21,” she said.

The legislation is facing multiple legal challenges.

Critics say it infringes on a person’s right to practice their religion, and disproportionately targets Muslim women who wear a headscarf.

In a Quebec Court of Appeal hearing earlier this week, civil rights groups argued the law is causing immediate and irreparable harm.

“People’s lives are being ruined. People are being forced to leave their professions. People are being forced to leave this province,” Catherine McKenzie, a lawyer representing the groups, told the court.

Fighting inside Quebec

Nour Farhat, a 28-year-old Montrealer who recently completed a master’s in criminal law, is involved in one of the legal challenges.

She says the law thwarted her dream of becoming a Crown prosecutor in Quebec.

She said the Manitoba ad was like “a breath of fresh air,” and such a move is appealing.

But Farhat, who works in litigation, has no plans to leave.

“Why can’t I be this person here, where I was born and raised? Why do I have to go to the other side of the country to realize my dream?” she said. “This is why I won’t go to any other province — because I want to be able to do this here in Quebec.”

Source: Amid political gamesmanship, some Quebec Muslim women enticed by offer to move to Manitoba

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Quebec’s values test: Why not focus on everyday gender equality?

2019/11/15 Leave a comment

Another good and thoughtful column by Sheema Khan.

One point of interest is her call for the long-promised revision of the citizenship study guide to include everyday examples of what gender equality means, not the criminal ones cited in the current guide.

As the government did not manage to get its revision published during its first mandate, it should consider this suggestion if not already included in the revision:

Galloping from one controversial social policy to another, the government of Quebec recently unveiled its “Values Test” for prospective immigrants. Derided by some, the test requires newcomers to the province to be aware of a few “key” values. French is the official language of la belle province. Polygamy is illegal, whereas marriage between two individuals is not. Men and women are equal before the law. There’s nothing wrong in letting immigrants know what to expect about their future society. However, in view of Bill 21, one can’t help but be cynical about the Coalition Avenir Québec’s attempt to narrowly define who is – and who isn’t – vrai Québécois.

Quebec’s stance on gender equality is laughable in view of Bill 21 – hijab-clad Muslim women are barred from teaching in public schools, whereas Muslim men are not. Jewish men who sport a kippa or yarmulke cannot serve as prosecutors or clerks in a provincial court, while Jewish women face no such restrictions. The courts will decide if the notwithstanding clause overrides the violation of gender equality (as enshrined in section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms).

Nevertheless, we should emphasize gender equality to those arriving from countries where women are accorded fewer resources and rights than men. According to the 2016 census, three of the top 10 countries of birth of recent immigrants were Pakistan, Iran and Syria – all of which finished in the bottom five (of 145 countries) of the World Economic Forum’s 2015 Global Gender Gap Index.

The culture shock can be great. I still remember my cousin’s surprise when he could not access his mother’s bank account as a matter of right, as he used to do in Saudi Arabia. Or one Middle Eastern relative who was dismayed that his wife was automatically a co-owner of the marital home. Or one husband’s disbelief that he would have to split marital assets 50-50 in the case of divorce. These are hard-won rights for women that should never be compromised. Immigrant men have complied and adapted to the new reality. And that’s a good thing.

While current guidelines from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada reiterate the equality of women and men before the law, they might want to add a line or two referring to everyday examples – such as financial independence and property rights of women. Instead, these guidelines leap to examples of criminal behaviour, stating: “Canada’s openness and generosity do not extend to barbaric cultural practices that tolerate spousal abuse, ‘honour killings,’ female genital mutilation, forced marriage or other gender-based violence.”

Such dramatic pronouncements, however, don’t help immigrants learn about the positive aspects of gender equality. And they lull Canadians into a sense of complacency that women in Canada are doing just fine. Not so fast.

In her compelling memoirs, Truth Be Told, Beverley McLachlin chronicles her own efforts to combat sexism within the legal profession but points to the broader fight for women’s equality throughout Canadian society. A fight that is by no means close to over.

According to the 2018 Gender Gap Index, Canada ranks 16th in the world (out of 149 countries) for its equitable distribution of resources between men and women. While we are tied for first in the field of education, we are 21st in political empowerment, 27th in economic participation and 104th in health/survival. The relatively high placements in politics and economics, however, mask absolute inequities.

For example, in 2018, Statistics Canada reported that Canadian women earned 87 cents for every $1 earned by men. A 2018 Angus Reid study indicated that women are more likely than men to experience poverty. Women in Canada live at greater risk than men of domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment, and sex trafficking. Even with the #MeToo movement, women still underreport sexual assault and harassment. Women and girls are often subject to online hate and sexualized abuse. While women make up roughly half the population, they are underrepresented in political and professional leadership positions. As MacLean’s Anne Kingston rightly observed, sexism permeated the 2019 election, culminating in a vicious, sexist slur painted on Catherine McKenna’s campaign office.

“Working toward gender equality is not only still relevant. It is urgent,” observes the Canadian Women’s Foundation. It’s a message we should all take to heart. The fight for gender equality begins here.

Source: Quebec’s values test: Why not focus on everyday gender equality? Sheema Khan

Filed under Citizenship, Multiculturalism Tagged with , , , , ,

Réforme de l’immigration: Québec présente ses excuses

2019/11/14 Leave a comment

Hopefully, some lessons learned, for both the Premier and the Minister:

« Je m’excuse pour le travail qui n’a pas été fait de façon aussi parfaite qu’on l’aurait souhaité. […] L’objectif était le bon, mais l’exécution n’a pas été bien faite », a affirmé mardi le premier ministre François Legault.

« À l’avenir, quand [on fait] des changements importants, [on va] s’assurer que nos listes sont bien faites », a-t-il ajouté.

Un peu plus tôt, le ministre de l’Immigration, Simon Jolin-Barrette, a affirmé qu’il « [s’] excuse auprès des Québécois » et qu’il prend « l’entière responsabilité des erreurs qui ont été commises dans la réforme du Programme de l’expérience québécoise [PEQ] ».

Une semaine de crise

Cette réforme en matière d’immigration, qui a plongé le gouvernement Legault en crise, la semaine dernière, a été mise en application trop rapidement, a admis mardi M. Jolin-Barrette.

« J’ai voulu aller rapidement relativement à la réforme du PEQ. J’aurais dû prendre davantage mon temps », a dit M. Jolin-Barrette, le teint blafard.

Le PEQ est un programme qui sert de voie rapide pour les étudiants et les travailleurs étrangers temporaires présents au Québec afin d’obtenir leur certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ), nécessaire à la résidence permanente.  Dans sa réforme, Québec a établi une liste des formations et d’emplois pour accéder au programme, mais cette liste était remplie de désuétudes.

Dans un premier temps, la semaine dernière, le gouvernement Legault a accordé un droit acquis aux étudiants et travailleurs étrangers qui étaient présents au Québec avant la mise en place de sa réforme. Vendredi, il l’a finalement suspendu en début de soirée.

« J’aurais dû davantage consulter les différents partenaires du milieu économique et du milieu éducatif. C’est ce que je vais faire au cours des prochaines semaines », a dit M.  Jolin-Barrette, mardi.

« J’aurais dû mieux faire les choses. Pour la prochaine, je vais m’améliorer. Ce que je peux vous dire, c’est qu’une telle erreur ne se reproduira pas », a-t-il dit.

L’opposition veut un nouveau ministre

En matinée, le chef de l’opposition officielle, le libéral Pierre Arcand, a demandé au premier ministre François Legault qu’il retire au jeune ministre ses responsabilités en immigration.

« Ce qui m’apparaît aussi très clair, c’est qu’à plusieurs reprises le premier ministre a passé l’éponge parce qu’il y a eu beaucoup de gaffes faites par M.  Jolin-Barrette. Il ne doit plus passer l’éponge », a affirmé M.  Arcand.

« Avec tout le cafouillage qu’on a vu, avec l’insensibilité qu’on a vue par rapport à la question de l’immigration, nous, à Québec solidaire, ça fait un petit bout qu’on dit : Bien, enlevez-lui, s’il vous plaît, ce portefeuille-là », a pour sa part affirmé la cheffe solidaire, Manon Massé.

« Ça a passé plusieurs étapes, des comités ministériels. Personne n’a rien vu. Alors c’est une erreur de tout le gouvernement au complet, y compris du premier ministre qui a défendu jusqu’à la fin, bec et ongles, ce règlement », a pour sa part affirmé Pascal Bérubé du Parti québécois.

Source: Réforme de l’immigration: Québec présente ses excuses

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Immigration: des experts dénoncent la vision «simpliste» de Québec

2019/11/09 Leave a comment

Some good commentary here. And encouraging that at least the Legault government has reversed itself and will allow those international students currently studying in Quebec to obtain permanent residency:

Les modifications au Programme expérience Québec (PEQ) du gouvernement de François Legault continuent de soulever la grogne et l’incrédulité, alors que des experts accusent Québec d’avoir une vision « simpliste » et de miner l’attrait de la province aux yeux des étudiants internationaux.

« Ce que je déplore, c’est la façon dont ces enjeux-là sont vus de manière tellement simpliste par le gouvernement, dit Robert Gagné, professeur titulaire au département d’économie appliquée de HEC Montréal et directeur du Centre sur la productivité et la prospérité. Ou bien ils savent et font comme s’ils ne savaient pas, ou bien ce sont des ignorants. Ça n’a pas de bon sens. »

M. Gagné déplore que la réforme du PEQ prive le Québec d’étudiants motivés qui sont courtisés par différents pays et établissements. « Il ne faut pas penser que nous sommes seuls au monde […]. Globalement, il y a une course pour attirer le talent. Les gens qui immigrent pour étudier ici, ils quittent leur famille, leur réseau. Ils prennent une grosse décision », dit-il, ajoutant qu’il est vain pour le gouvernement de « jouer les devins » en essayant de prévoir quels secteurs de l’économie auront besoin de plus de candidats fraîchement diplômés dans le futur.

« Surprise totale »

Le gouvernement Legault a annoncé la semaine dernière qu’il modifiait le PEQ, programme d’immigration qui sert de voie rapide à l’obtention de la résidence permanente pour les étudiants étrangers au Québec et les travailleurs temporaires déjà installés dans la province.

L’impact de la réforme pourrait se faire particulièrement sentir dans des endroits où une importante proportion d’élèves vient de l’étranger. C’est le cas du cégep de Matane, où 45 % des 700 élèves de l’établissement viennent de l’international, l’une des proportions les plus importantes du réseau collégial québécois.

Pierre Bédard, directeur général du cégep de Matane, dit que l’annonce des modifications au PEQ a été « une surprise totale » pour lui comme pour les enseignants et les élèves du cégep. « Personne ne s’attendait à ça. Le gouvernement ne nous a pas demandé notre avis.

L’impact est majeur, car moins d’étudiants, ça signifie moins d’employés au cégep de Matane, et les enseignants seront les premiers à écoper.

 Pierre Bédard, directeur général du cégep de Matane

Sur les 218 domaines de formation sélectionnés par le gouvernement, cinq sont offerts au cégep de Matane : soins infirmiers, techniques de l’informatique, techniques de physiothérapie, techniques d’intégration multimédia et technologie de l’électronique industrielle.

En revanche, quatre programmes offerts sont exclus de la liste : techniques d’aménagement du territoire et d’urbanisme, techniques de tourisme, techniques d’animation 3D et de synthèse d’images et photographie.

« C’est étonnant que ces programmes soient exclus, car les taux de placement des diplômés y sont de près de 100 %, dit M. Bédard. Les gens sont flexibles. Un finissant en photo peut prendre un emploi de caméraman. On le voit localement, ils répondent à de réels besoins. »

M. Bédard, qui se dit soulagé que le gouvernement ait fait volte-face dans le cas des élèves déjà inscrits, note que la liste des programmes d’études donnant accès au PEQ sera appelée à changer au fil des ans, ce qui place une épée de Damoclès au-dessus de la tête des élèves étrangers actuels et futurs.

« Même si j’ai un étudiant en multimédia qui a aujourd’hui droit au PEQ, je n’ai aucune garantie qu’à la fin de son diplôme, son programme va être encore dans la liste. C’est une grande insécurité pour ces étudiants-là. Je pense que des étudiants potentiels vont choisir de ne pas venir au Québec. Actuellement, je fais du recrutement pour la rentrée de 2020. De quoi aura l’air la liste à ce moment-là ? On l’ignore. »

Moratoire demandé

Mercredi, le Syndicat des enseignants et enseignantes du cégep de Matane a demandé un moratoire sur le projet de modifications apportées au PEQ.

« Nous sommes particulièrement inquiets […]. Pour les jeunes actuellement inscrits dans nos programmes, il nous apparaît inconcevable que les règles du jeu changent en cours de route. Les étudiantes et étudiants qui proviennent de partout dans le monde sont une richesse pour notre communauté », a déclaré dans un communiqué Yannick Malouin, 2e vice-président du SEECM-CSQ.

À la faculté de droit de l’Université de Montréal, là même où le ministre Simon Jolin-Barrette a entamé son doctorat, les va-et-vient du parti sur le dossier de l’immigration ont uni étudiants et professeurs dans le désarroi.

Jean Leclair, professeur spécialiste en droit constitutionnel, supervisait la thèse de Jolin-Barrette avant que celui-ci n’interrompe ses études pour se lancer en politique. Unissant sa voix à celle de son recteur Guy Breton, M. Leclair n’a pas été avare de critiques à l’endroit des dernières décisions politiques de son ancien étudiant et de son parti.

« Tout ce que j’y vois, ce sont des relents de l’Union nationale, au point où je me demande si leur prochain projet n’est pas la colonisation de l’Abitibi », ironise M. Leclair, par ailleurs administrateur de la Société des anciens de la Fondation Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

Il accuse notamment la Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) de faire le jeu des populistes et perçoit le changement de règlement au Programme de l’expérience québécoise comme « une des pires politiques publiques » des dernières années.

Je pense qu’ils se sont enferrés dans un discours racoleur, de nationalisme à la petite semaine, et là ils doivent livrer la marchandise. On doit nourrir la bête.

Jean Leclair, professeur spécialiste en droit constitutionnel

Jean Leclair a vertement dénoncé l’usage de la clause dérogatoire par la CAQ. « C’est ça qui est dramatique, et ce n’est pas ce qu’il a appris à la faculté de droit de l’Université de Montréal », assène le professeur en parlant de son ancien étudiant.

Rassurés, mais pas entièrement

Selon le président de l’Association des cycles supérieurs en droit (ACSED) de l’UdeM, Nicolas Gervais, environ la moitié des 600 membres de l’association sont des étudiants étrangers. Parmi ceux-ci, plusieurs ont (ou avaient) comme plan de s’établir au Québec, souligne-t-il.

Aurore Dumazet, étudiante à la maîtrise en droit à l’UdeM, a été soulagée par l’adoption d’une clause de transition, mais le flou demeure. Idem pour son copain, un étudiant français à la maîtrise en économie, qui est venu avec Mme Dumazet s’établir pour de bon au Québec.

Je me suis sentie un peu flouée. J’ai tout quitté, amis et famille, pour venir m’intégrer ici. Maintenant, j’attends de savoir ce qu’il va se passer.

Aurore Dumazet, étudiante à la maîtrise en droit à l’Université de Montréal

Ledy Rivas Zannou, doctorant originaire du Bénin, trouve paradoxale l’initiative du gouvernement caquiste.

« Ce que le gouvernement Legault est en train de dire, c’est qu’il ne veut plus personne, mais que vous pouvez venir vous faire former ici, argue-t-il. Ça veut dire que les impôts des citoyens québécois sont mobilisés pour former des ressources dont profiteront d’autres provinces ou d’autres États. »

Vice-président des Scouts du Montréal métropolitain, impliqué au sein de Greenpeace : Rivas Zannou, en deux ans et demi, dit s’être déjà entouré d’amis et avoir développé des projets. Ceci après avoir payé des études à fort prix, qui lui reviendront aux alentours de 50 000 $ en trois ans.

« Si on me dit que je peux rester, je reste. Et je défendrai le Québec volontiers et fièrement », avance l’étudiant, jusqu’à nouvel ordre, étranger.

Source: Immigration: des experts dénoncent la vision «simpliste» de Québec

In the absurdities department:

Quebec denies French student’s immigration over English thesis chapter was covered internationally.

Under fire over immigration plan, Quebec premier takes solace in positive Facebook reviews, a reminder that popularity and populism is not a measure of policy soundness

 

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A memo for Canada: back off of Quebec’s Bill 21

2019/11/09 Leave a comment

Struck a nerve.

But seriously, it is one thing to argue that comments from English Canada may not be helpful to some of the internal debates within Quebec, another to argue that English Canadians have no right to comment on discriminatory laws whether in Quebec or elsewhere.

But Ontario MPPs take a shot at Quebec with unanimous vote supporting religious freedom may be an example where this may not be helpful.

Not to mention, that there are international human rights conventions and practices that presumably Quebec adheres to:

Let me say to all the bien pensants in the “Rest of Canada” who make up the growing chorus of critics of Quebec’s Bill 21 provisions on the wearing of religious symbols by certain public servants: Have a care. You are playing with fire, and your knee-jerk reaction to legislation supported by a vast majority of Quebeckers risks starting a major conflagration that might consume our country.

First, you should actually read the bill. You should note its very narrow application, only to certain officials who must interact with the public, only while in the exercise of their official duties, and only to people newly hired in these positions.

Second, you should remember that most of Quebec’s French schools, colleges and universities were largely operated by Roman Catholic teachers and administrators, all of whom wore religious garb, until the 1960s. When I attended law school at Laval University from 1960-63, the rector was future cardinal Louis-Albert Vachon, who was named to the Order of Canada and the National Order of Quebec. He is the last of an unbroken line of distinguished clerics to hold this position. Quebec’s famous and progressive Quiet Revolution was largely about escaping the influence of the Catholic Church in this and many other areas.

Third, you should pay attention to the increasing expressions of incredulity, anger and outrage in Quebec’s French-language media over your virtue signalling and self-righteous condemnations of a legitimate act of Quebec’s National Assembly, which is legislating well within its constitutional authority.

And fourth, you should consider that on Oct. 21, 33 per cent of Quebeckers (555,000 more than in 2015) voted for the Bloc Québécois, which had almost disappeared until resistance in the Rest of Canada to Bill 21 reignited the long-dormant but always smouldering view among many Quebeckers that they can never be fully understood and accepted in this country. From there, it is but a step, if Quebec Premier François Legault should ever conclude that public opinion demanded it, to a third referendum on Quebec independence.

It is argued that those likely to be most affected by Bill 21 are some Muslim women living in Quebec who may be forced to choose between a possible future career in Quebec’s public service and their desire to wear religious garb at all times, and that the bill is therefore racist and specifically directed against devout Muslims.

One might ask whether such women would agree to have their own children taught by nuns or priests or monks wearing Roman Catholic religious symbols? Or whether such devout Muslim women might not agree, as did many devout Roman Catholic teachers in Quebec after the secularization of Quebec’s education system during the Quiet Revolution, to forgo wearing religious garb or symbols during working hours in order to be hired in future for certain public-service jobs?

I was raised and educated largely in Quebec. I lived for 20 years in London, Ont., and 10 years in Banff, Alta. I still have family in both places, as well as in Nova Scotia and British Columbia. I have worked in the Premier’s office in Quebec City, the Prime Minister’s office in Ottawa and for a large media corporation in Toronto. For the past 15 years, I have lived in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. It cannot be said that I am ignorant of my country.

I warn the Rest of Canada, in the words of columnist Richard Martineau writing on Saturday in Le Journal de Montréal, Quebec’s most widely read daily, that we are now suddenly on track towards a head-on collision. Mr. Martineau quotes the famous words of Quebec’s Liberal premier Robert Bourassa after the defeat of the Meech Lake accord: “Whatever we say and whatever one may do, Quebec is, today and for always, a distinct society, free and able of assuming its destiny and its development.” We are once again shouting past one another in a dialogue of the deaf. Will Canada accept Quebec as it is, or persist in interfering in Quebec’s internal affairs of which it is largely ignorant? Or will Quebeckers conclude, once and for all, that they are not welcome in this country and must reluctantly leave it?

Source: A memo for Canada: back off of Quebec’s Bill 21: Peter White

Filed under Interculturalisme, Multiculturalism Tagged with , ,

Quebec backtracks on changes to immigration program aimed at students

2019/11/08 Leave a comment

Good relatively quick correction:

The Quebec government has backtracked on proposed changes to an immigration program aimed at fast-tracking residency for post-secondary students that would’ve seen many of the current participants sent home.

After teary pleas at the legislature from some of those people a day earlier and calls from opposition parties for the Legault government to revisit its decision, Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette announced Wednesday he would allow students already enrolled in the program to complete it under the old rules.

Jolin-Barrette, who didn’t meet with the students, said their testimonials at a news conference inside the legislature led him to change his mind.

“I think I’m really sensitive to that because I heard them yesterday and this morning …. I made some changes about the reforms to answer their questions and their preoccupations,” Jolin-Barrette told reporters.

While those currently in the program will be spared, the new restrictive rules will go ahead as expected for future participants as the province attempts to address labour shortages by targeting specific fields where workers are needed.

The about-face comes a day after both Jolin-Barrette and Premier Francois Legault appeared inflexible.

Interim Liberal leader Pierre Arcand said his party tried on eight occasions to have Jolin-Barrette meet with the students.

“The minister hid. He did everything to avoid any type of meeting,” Arcand said. “I do not call this being sensitive.”

Legault said he was shaken by what he heard from the students. “I didn’t like my day,” Legault told reporters Wednesday morning. “When I spoke to my wife last night, she saw very well I had not liked my day. She understood it wasn’t my best day.”

Hundreds of foreign students admitted to the province under the Quebec experience program could have found themselves forced to leave after the province last week tightened the rules for the program.

In place since 2010, the popular program allows foreign students with a qualifying diploma or people with work experience in Quebec to receive an expedited selection certificate, fast-tracking residency and making it possible to stay in the province.

Whereas all programs were admissible in the past, the new rules would only include seven doctoral programs, 24 masters programs, 54 bachelors programs and 59 junior college diploma programs. The list of eligible programs and degrees will be reviewed yearly by the government according to the province’s needs.

“The reform is there because it is necessary to select immigrants based on Quebec’s labour market,” Jolin-Barrette said.

That means a student admitted to a bachelors’ program in demand could discover, two years later, without completing the program, that it’s no longer admissible.

“Indeed, it may be necessary to look at the date of entry so as not to penalize people,” Legault said, without explaining further.

In 2018, there were 11,000 people admitted under the program.

Source: Quebec backtracks on changes to immigration program aimed at students

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Explained: The ‘values test’ that immigrants to Quebec, Canada must now pass

2019/11/05 Leave a comment

Interesting that the test is getting picked up in Indian media:

Quebec, Canada’s largest province, will soon require potential immigrants to take a “values test” as part of a new policy. Quebec is the only province in Canada where French speakers are in a majority.

“Effective January 1, 2020, a new selection condition related to the learning of democratic values and Québec values expressed in the Québec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms will come into effect in order to promote better integration of immigrants into Québec society,” a statement issued by Quebec’s immigration department said.

According to Canada statistics, there are over 22,000 (includes non-immigrant, immigrants and non-permanent residents) Indians in Quebec, and as of 2016, there were about 17,800 Indian immigrants (those who have Canadian citizenship) living in Quebec.

What is the values test?

The values test for immigrants was an election promise made by the ruling Coalition Avenir Quebec party. It will apply to immigrants in the “qualified worker” or “economic” category. Coalition Avenir Quebec is a rightwing nationalist and autonomist party that has been in power in the Quebec provincial government since 2018.

On Wednesday, the Montreal Gazette reported that Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette refused to make public the questions that would be asked in the values test, but released a sample of five questions out of a potential pool of about 100 drafted by a private consulting firm that the government has hired.

Candidates will be asked a total of 20 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and will need to secure 75 per cent marks in order to pass. The test will last 90 minutes, and will be unsupervised, which means that candidates can take it remotely even from their homes.

While making the announcement, Jolin-Barrette said that the questions would not be very much tougher than those the immigrants answer to qualify for Canadian citizenship.

Candidates can prepare for the test by taking online tutorials in the language of their choice at no cost.

In case the candidate fails the test, he/she can retake it after a period of two weeks. If the candidate fails twice, he/she will need to take a course prescribed by the Minister in Quebec or take the test a third time and renounce to obtain the learning attestation by participating in the course. The candidate needs to take the test within 60 days following the date of the Minister’s request.

What questions were asked in the released sample?

The sample includes questions such as:

a) In Quebec, women and men have the same rights and this is inscribed in law. True or False

b) Choose the illustration or illustrations that indicate who is allowed to marry in Quebec. The illustrations depict: two men, two women, and one man, two women, a man and a woman, and two men and one woman

c) Identify which situations involved discrimination. A job refused: to a pregnant woman, to a person lacking the required diploma and to a person because of their ethnic background

d) Since March 27, 2019 by virtue of the secularism of state law, all new police officers may not wear religious symbols. True. False.

d) What is the official language of Quebec? French, Spanish, English, French and English.

What is the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms?

The values test is based on the democratic values mentioned in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

As per the charter, “In exercising his fundamental freedoms and rights, a person shall maintain a proper regard for democratic values, state laicity, public order and the general well-being of the citizens of Québec. In this respect, the scope of the freedoms and rights, and limits to their exercise may be fixed by law.”

The Quebec charter was unveiled in 2013, with the aim of creating a secular society.

How has the idea of a values test been received in Canada?

An editorial in Le Journal De Quebec said: “I’m wondering. Here in Quebec, how many would pass this test of values? And how many disagree with the values that are presented as common to all Quebeckers? I am not sure that these values are shared by as many people as we think. I suspect that the results would be surprising, if not disturbing, depending on the language spoken, the religion of age and sex.”

Another editorial in the La Presse took a different line: “Whether we agree with the CAQ’s (Coalition Avenir Quebec) measures of identity or not, one thing remains: immigration is a two-way street. The host society has a responsibility, the newcomer has one too. The attestation of apprenticeship of Quebec values respects this principle.”

Source: Explained: The ‘values test’ that immigrants to Quebec, Canada must now pass

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Quebec: Près de 20 000 immigrants investisseurs attendent leur résidence permanente

2019/11/04 Leave a comment

Program of little benefit in any case, better to cancel outright as federal government did with its program:

Près de 20 000 riches candidats à l’immigration ont reçu un certificat de sélection du Québec, mais attendent toujours de recevoir leur résidence permanente du gouvernement fédéral, a appris La Presse. Une file d’attente monstre qui explique en partie pourquoi le gouvernement Legault a suspendu le programme d’immigrants investisseurs hier.

Le ministre de l’Immigration, Simon Jolin-Barrette, a annoncé que Québec va refuser toute nouvelle demande dans le cadre de ce programme controversé dès demain. L’annonce est passée quelque peu inaperçue, puisqu’elle a eu lieu en même temps que le dévoilement très attendu du « test des valeurs ».

En entrevue, M. Jolin-Barrette a expliqué que la mesure était devenue inévitable. Non seulement le taux de rétention des immigrants investisseurs est-il « famélique », a-t-il dit, mais encore « l’intégrité » du programme est maintenant compromise.

La raison : au cours des dernières années, Québec a distribué plus de certificats de sélection à des immigrants investisseurs qu’il ne prévoyait en admettre dans son plan d’immigration. Aujourd’hui, on se retrouve donc avec 19 000 personnes qui ont rempli les obligations du programme, mais qui n’ont toujours pas reçu leur citoyenneté canadienne.

Au rythme d’admission actuel, il faudrait six ans pour épuiser cette liste.

Le ministre lance la pierre au gouvernement précédent, à qui il reproche d’avoir mal administré le programme.

« Le fait qu’il y a un inventaire de 19 000 dossiers m’apparaît comme étant une gestion discutable de la sélection et de l’admission des personnes immigrantes par le Parti libéral », a-t-il dénoncé.

Intermédiaires financiers

Le programme d’immigrants investisseurs propose une voie rapide aux candidats à l’immigration qui possèdent un avoir d’au moins 2 millions. Ils peuvent obtenir leur certificat de sélection moyennant un placement sans intérêts de 1,2 million pour cinq ans à Investissement Québec.

Dans la plupart des cas, les candidats versent une somme d’environ 300 000 $ à un intermédiaire financier. Celui-ci contracte un prêt et fournit la somme de 1,2 million à Investissement Québec au nom de son client. Il touche alors 22 % des revenus d’intérêts générés par Investissement Québec.

M. Jolin-Barrette s’explique mal que ces intermédiaires profitent autant du programme.

« Lorsqu’on regarde combien de millions ont été consacrés aux entreprises par le biais de ce programme, combien de millions ont été consacrés aux revenus pour les intermédiaires financiers, ils sont pratiquement équivalents, a relevé Simon Jolin-Barrette. Donc c’est important que les revenus associés aux investissements servent à aider l’économie québécoise. »

Seul au Canada

Le Québec est la seule province canadienne qui gère un programme d’immigrants investisseurs. Le gouvernement fédéral a aboli le sien sous Stephen Harper en 2014.

La Coalition avenir Québec a critiqué le programme lorsqu’elle était dans l’opposition. Des reportages ont révélé plusieurs abus au cours des dernières années.

Les critiques relèvent que la très grande majorité des immigrants investisseurs ne font que passer au Québec et qu’ils s’établissent plutôt à Toronto ou à Vancouver.

« Ce qui est important aussi, c’est de revoir le programme, parce que le taux de présence des immigrants investisseurs était de 17 %, a convenu Simon Jolin-Barrette. Ça, ça signifie que les gens prêtaient 1,2 million au gouvernement du Québec, obtenaient la résidence permanente, mais ne venaient pas s’établir au Québec. »

La suspension du programme durera huit mois. D’ici là, les candidats qui ont respecté les exigences et qui ont reçu un certificat de sélection continueront d’être accueillis au Québec à mesure qu’ils recevront leur résidence permanente du fédéral.

La mesure du gouvernement Legault a été critiquée par le Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ). Il rappelle que les sommes recueillies par Investissement Québec finançaient des mesures d’intégration à l’emploi des immigrants.

« Le gouvernement se prive ainsi de sommes importantes destinées à accompagner en emploi les immigrants et les minorités visibles, ce qui n’est certainement pas la chose à faire en cette période de rareté de main-d’œuvre », déplore le CPQ.

Nombre d’immigrants investisseurs admis par Québec en attente de leur résidence permanente

• 2013 : 9200
• 2014 : 12 800
• 2015 : 14 500
• 2016 : 15 800
• 2017 : 14 500
• 2018 : 16 700
• Janvier 2019 : 18 000
• Septembre 2019 : 18 800

Source: Près de 20 000 immigrants investisseurs attendent leur résidence permanente

Filed under citizenship-by-investment, Immigration Tagged with ,

Immigrants will have to take a values test, but it won’t be required for residency

2019/11/01 Leave a comment

Even if easy, still objectionable in principle. But may reflect the political need to demonstrate implementation rather a more substantial approach:

It will be multiple choice and you get three tries to pass.

But in making public the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s long awaited values test for new arrivals, Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette argued the questionsare not much tougher than those immigrants already answer to obtain Canadian citizenship.

Drawing a sample from a pool of about 100 drafted by a private consulting firm hired by the government, Jolin-Barrette said an immigrant in the qualified worker category could be asked whether women and men have the same rights in Quebec. True or false?

Another refers to Quebec’s secularism law, Bill 21, and asks whether new police officers can wear religious symbols. True or false?

But far from walking in to the test cold, potential candidates can prepare themselves, starting by taking an online tutorial, sitting in front of their home computer while still in a foreign land or already in Quebec.

All this is done in the language of their choice, for free. The actual unsupervised test will last 90 minutes, including 60 minutes of “informative content” that sets up each question in a running stream. It can be taken from anywhere candidates have access to a computer.

There will be 20 questions in all. A pass is a score of 75 per cent (15 questions correct), but in the event of a fail, the person can take the test again two weeks later.

If the person fails again, they are then obliged to take a daylong “Objectif intégration,” crash course and then take a third crack at the test.

In fact, if a candidate is already living in Quebec, he or she can just take the course and skip the test altogether.

It’s only if candidates fail all their attempts or do not take the course that their files are closed and they have to start the immigration request process all over from the start, Jolin-Barrette said at a news conference.

But Jolin-Barrette faced a barrage of questions about how the system will work and the potential for cheating, given the fact the tests are online.

There is already speculation some candidates might be tempted to lie or get help on their tests or even have immigration lawyers and consultants do the work shielded behind a computer screen.

“If you cheat you are making a fraud and your selection is not valid,” Jolin-Barrette responded.

“You know, we don’t have any guarantee and it is the same thing in the Canadian citizenship evaluation. But the ministry has the power to make some verifications about the integrity of the results.

“So, we are confident that people are honest and they want to come to Quebec to build the society together. So, that’s part of the deal when you come to Québec.”

But the CAQ’s new plan is much softer than the hardline rhetoric the CAQ tapped into in the heat of the 2018 election campaign. At that time, party leader François Legault said the questions would seek commitments from immigrants to ensure the respect of Quebec’s values.

“Do you recognize that laws come before religion,” was one pledge he suggested? “Do you recognize we are a democratic society, no violence, respect”?

There is no more electoral talk of expelling those who fail. Even the word test is gone. Now Quebec uses the more bureaucratic term “evaluation of their knowledge of Quebec values.”

There is another key difference from the election promises of the CAQ. Passing the test will not be a condition of their permanent residency in Canada. Quebec and Ottawa are still negotiating that issue.

“What we are doing today is within our jurisdiction,” Jolin-Barrette told reporters. “Our objective has not changed. What we would like to do is encumber permanent residency to these conditions, that is to say the knowledge of values.

“I think Quebec is a distinct society and the federal government agrees with that. During the debate Mr. (Justin) Trudeau said he agreed with an evaluation of the knowledge of Quebec values (administered by Quebec).”

But until that happens Quebec taps into the power it has now under a 1991 federal-provincial agreement. That deal allows Quebec to issue a certificate of selection, called a CSQ. It is that certificate which enables immigrants to apply for permanent residency, which remains under federal jurisdiction.

Quebec has the power to select immigrants in the qualified worker or economic category, which means the values test will apply to those candidates. It will not apply to candidates applying under refugee or family unification programs, which Ottawa controls exclusively.

As of January, a qualified worker seeking to live here will have 60 days to take the new values test, after they have passed through the new Arrima selection processand been invited to make a request for a CSQ.

The new regulations were published in the government’s Gazette OfficielleWednesday.

On his way into question period, Legault was already saying the CAQ has delivered the goods it said it would in the election.

“We are respecting our (election) promises,” Legault said. “I think it’s normal when we are setting ourselves up in a new society that we know the values of this society. We have a new secularism law (Bill 21).

“I wouldn’t want someone to be surprised to find out that in Quebec persons in positions of authority are not allowed to wear religious symbols.”

He said the plan is a step forward and he still hopes to pry more powers over immigration away from the federal government on the issue of permanent residency.

“It’s a first step to say we will do the test before (issuing of the CSQ),” Legault said. “This sends a strong signal that if you want to come and live in Quebec, you have to know the values of Quebec.”

He disputed the idea that the test will make Quebec seem intolerant.

“If you compare our test to the test which already exists in Canada about knowing Canada it’s not very different. Of course we have secularism where there is a difference.

Initial reaction to the plan was mixed.

“The desire of the government, since the start, has been to restrict the arrival of immigrants,” said interim Liberal leader Pierre Arcand, “and Lord knows we are still suffering from a pretty dramatic labour shortage in Quebec.”

But the government Wednesday took another step on the immigration issue. Following a week of public hearings in August, Jolin-Barrette tabled Quebec’s immigration plan for the year 2020.

After lowering the total number of new arrivals to 40,000 for 2019, the government now has set a target of increasing them. The 2020 total will be between 43,000 and 44,500.

Source: Immigrants will have to take a values test, but it won’t be required for residency

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

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