Minister Jean Boulet said that 80% of immigrants “do not work, do not speak French, or do not adhere to the values of Quebec society”, during a debate in Mauricie on September 21. He defended himself by saying “to have expressed his thoughts badly”.
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“80% of immigrants go to Montreal, do not work, do not speak French, or do not adhere to the values of Quebec society,” said Mr. Boulet on the airwaves of ICI Mauricie, last Wednesday.
These comments contrast with certain statements by outgoing Prime Minister François Legault, who maintains that the CAQ government has ensured that “80% of newcomers speak French before being chosen.”
In fact, according to data from the Department of Immigration for the year 2021, 84.4% of economic immigrants welcomed by Quebec knew French.
In addition, the share of immigrants arriving in Montreal was 65% last year, according to the Institute of Statistics of Quebec.
While the question of the number of immigrants that Quebec should admit on an annual basis has occupied an important place in the discussions on immigration since the start of the campaign, Jean Boulet, for his part, believes that it is of a “purely academic” question.
“The immigrants, the thresholds, it’s a purely academic debate, you have to make sure you integrate them well,” he said during the September 21 debate.
François Legault is not of this opinion. Passing before the Montreal Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday morning, the outgoing Prime Minister affirmed that this is a question of vital importance for Quebec.
“As long as we have not stopped the decline of French, I think that for the Quebec nation which wants to protect French, it would be a little suicidal to go and increase the immigration thresholds”, he launched. .
After these remarks resurfaced on social networks, Jean Boulet published a message on Twitter expressing that his words exceeded his thoughts.
“I’m sorry for expressing my thoughts badly. The excerpt broadcast does not reflect what I think. We must continue to focus on the reception, francization and integration of immigrants, which are a source of wealth for Quebec,” he wrote.
“I know John. John doesn’t think that. He made a serious error in judgment. He regrets his words, I regret his words. He said that a majority of immigrants do not work or do not speak French, it is not true”, reacted François Legault in a press briefing.
These remarks aroused the indignation of the liberal candidate Isabelle Melançon, who described them as “unacceptable”.
“These prejudices do NOT correspond SO much to what I tell you on the ground, in Verdun. It is deplorable to see that this is what the outgoing Minister of Employment thinks,” she noted.
“What have you been doing since 2018? You are the outgoing immigration minister, your government has even implemented a values test. Tell us about your record in terms of regionalization instead of spreading your prejudices,” added the Liberal candidate in Nelligan, Monsef Derraji.
The leader of the Parti Québécois affirmed that these are “once again” very irresponsible remarks on the part of CAQ. Words that divide, he says, recalling the comments made by François Legault on “violence and immigration.”
“I find it hard to believe that each time, these are accidents,” mentioned Paul St-Pierre-Plamondon this morning, along with his team of candidates in the east.
“I don’t feel like it’s a mistake.”
He also maintains that the declarations on immigration are a means of making people forget “the poverty of their program” of the CAQ.
The PQ leader also criticized the statement by the outgoing premier who said earlier that raising the immigration threshold would be “suicidal.”
He nevertheless took the opportunity to attack the immigration threshold proposed by the CAQ, arguing that it would lead to the decline of the French language.
“What the CAQ seeks to do is to sweep under the rug the fact that to 50,000 permanent immigrants per year, they have admitted that it is an environment where French is declining. This model is unsustainable.
He maintains that the Parti Québécois, which proposes a threshold of 35,000 immigrants per year, will allow newcomers to be better integrated.
Reluctantly, Jean Boulet addressed the issue of regionalization and francization immediately after making his statement, which is now causing controversy, during the debate on September 21.
“We have set up nine regional directorates (…). These are people who do integration, who provide personalized support for immigrants to enable them to integrate well into the community and the workplace in a harmonious way, ”he said at the time.
“Francization, we have doubled the budgets for francization, and there are a few worries about it. With Bill 96, we created a one-stop shop called francization Québec, which will simplify the process and provide favorable access,” added the minister.
– with the collaboration of Geneviève Lajoie and Nicolas Lachance, Parliamentary Office