The accumulation of snow forced the postponement of the long-awaited meeting between Justin Trudeau and François Legault which was to be held in Montreal on Friday morning.
Prime Minister Trudeau’s office said in a written statement that the meeting will be “postponed” to a later date.
“The Prime Minister will still speak to Prime Minister Legault by telephone this morning out of courtesy,” it was explained on the Ottawa side.
The meeting was eagerly awaited by the journalists because of the difference of opinion of the two men on several subjects.
This is the case in the file of health transfers, which has been stalled for more than a year now. While the provinces are asking Ottawa to increase its contribution from 22% to 35%, the federal government believes that it is already contributing enough, but also that it would be ready to contribute more if the provinces accept its terms.
A standoff is also taking place over immigration, while Ottawa proposes to welcome 500,000 immigrants per year from 2025. Proportionally, this would be equivalent to approximately 112,000 people per year in Quebec, or double the ceiling. that the province was aiming for until very recently.
Justin Trudeau sparked controversy earlier this week after he said in an interview with The Canadian Press that Quebec had the “capacity” to take in 112,000 immigrants a year, even though he didn’t explicitly “recommend” it.
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The new Quebec Minister of Immigration, Christine Fréchette, then accused the Prime Minister of Canada of having been “insensitive” to concerns related to integration and francization, two themes underlying immigration according to Quebec. Previously more combative on this front, François Legault however abandoned his demands to repatriate all powers in immigration.
The protection of the French language nevertheless remains another point of contention between the two capitals.
Through Bill 96, Quebec wants to submit federally chartered companies on its territory to Bill 101.
However, with its Official Languages reform, the adoption of which is expected at the beginning of the year, Ottawa is determined to allow these same companies to evade Quebec law.
These three major issues will certainly remain on the agenda during their future meeting, the date of which has not yet been determined.