Québec solidaire wants more immigration to province's regions
Montreal Gazette | September 11, 2022
Québec solidaire reiterated on Sunday its interest in having more immigrants permanently settle in the province’s regions.
On multiple occasions during the campaign, party co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois has said Quebec’s immigration target should be somewhere between 60,000 and 80,000 people per year for the entirety of the province, with the exact number coming from an expert committee.
Immigration lawyer Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who is the party’s candidate in Saint-Henri—Sainte-Anne, did not completely rule out a higher target than 80,000 if the experts recommended it. He said the range being put forward by the party was inspired by expert consensus: “Look at the expert reports. Look at the needs. We have more than 200,000 jobs available; we’ll need to address the labour shortage.”
Appearing in Chicoutimi, Nadeau-Dubois quickly cleaned up after his candidate, saying his party’s position is clear on the range of 60,000 to 80,000 immigrants.
“Within that range, we’re comfortable,” he said. “After that, we’d give a mandate to an expert committee to work out the exact number.”
Québec solidaire announced that its immigration model would include the creation of welcome centres in each region, the francization of workplaces and giving immigrants a ticket worth $200 to discover Quebec culture.
The party says it would prioritize immigration to Quebec’s regions.
“We deserve a government that is not uncomfortable talking about immigration,” Nadeau-Dubois said, “and that government is a Québec solidaire government.”
In Quebec, the Queen's death raises questions about future of the monarchy in Canada
CTV News | September 11, 2022
The mixed reactions in Quebec to the death of Queen Elizabeth II highlight the province’s complex relationship with the monarchy.
In the days after the Queen’s death, incumbent Premier Francois Legault — who is currently on the campaign trail ahead of an Oct. 3 election — has faced questions about whether the province should now eliminate the position of lieutenant governor, as well as criticism from the Parti Québécois for lowering the Quebec flag to half mast in honour of the late queen.
Quebec media outlets ran both tributes to the monarch and retrospectives about a riot during her 1964 visit to Quebec City that has become known as "Truncheon Saturday."
The majority of Quebecers don't look kindly on the monarchy for historical reasons as well as their support for democracy, said Gérard Bouchard, a historian and sociologist who teaches at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.
"In Quebec, this appears to be a vestige of a colonialist era that we thought had disappeared," he said in an interview. "In Quebec, the majority of people would say, 'we don't know why this continues in Canada and we don't know why this has been imposed on us in Quebec.'"
Quebec won’t take day off for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, Legault says
Global News | September 13, 2022
Quebec Premier François Legault was quick to react to the news that Canada will hold a national holiday to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
When asked by the reporters on the campaign trail for the upcoming provincial election on Oct. 3, Legault said Quebec will hold a commemoration day but there won’t be a holiday.
“I will continue the campaign,” Legault said in Montreal’s Verdun borough.
Legault offered more details about his decision when speaking at Montreal city hall later in the day, following a meeting with mayor Valérie Plante.
“First I think about the students and I wouldn’t like them to miss school, we’ve had enough with the pandemic. I think it’s not a good idea to close schools or put parents in a position where they wouldn’t be able to work,” Legault explained.
As Quebec's worker shortage worsens, employers plead with leaders to welcome more immigrants
CBC News | September 14, 2022
At a packaging plant in a Montreal suburb, workers from 35 countries work the line, nailing and assembling crates for shipment.
The company, Creopack, has about 100 employees — 60 per cent of whom were born in countries other than Canada. The company is actively seeking more.
Efforts to hire locally have been unsuccessful.
"It can take six months to find one person," said Creopack's vice-president, Jean-Sébastien Comtois. The company paid tens of thousands of dollars and went through nearly three years of red tape to attract temporary foreign workers, only to hire just 12, six of whom have not yet arrived.
Comtois says the worker shortage is hampering his business development prospects, and he's calling on Quebec's political parties to do whatever is necessary to attract more people to the workforce.
Quebec election: Leaders go ‘face-to-face’ in first election debate tonight
Global News | September 15, 2022
The first of two French-language leaders debates during the Quebec election campaign takes place in Montreal Thursday night, and it will be the first contest as party leader for four of the five participants.
Polls have shown the Coalition Avenir Québec with a sizable lead over its four main opponents ahead of the so-called “face-to-face” debate on TVA network, which will pit one leader directly against another.
CAQ Leader François Legault, the incumbent premier and the only participant who has debated before as a provincial party leader, told reporters this week he recognizes he’ll be the target.
“I expect the four leaders to attack me; it’s a bit normal, when you look at the polls,” Legault said Tuesday. “So we try to predict these attacks, predict responses.”
Organizers say the debate will be split into three sections: the environment, quality of life and the economy; health, family and education; and immigration, language and identity.
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