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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 62

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2022 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 62 - May/2/22
Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)
  • May/2/22 2:40:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, immigration is essential to our economy. As the member opposite knows, Quebec sets its own immigration targets. Last year the province welcomed over 50,000 new permanent residents. This year Quebec has increased its immigration targets significantly, which will help reduce wait times. We will always work very closely with the Quebec government to ensure that the immigration system continues to work for Quebeckers and Canadians.
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Context: House Hansard - 62 - May/2/22
Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ)
  • May/2/22 2:41:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they cannot even name the problem, so it will be really difficult to solve it. There is a backlog of 29,000 files, and there are court cases that have been dragging on for 13 years. These are people. They are not files; they are people. That is what the Prime Minister is forgetting in his quarrel with Quebec. The federal government has proven, year after year, that it is either incapable of taking care of these people or does not consider this issue important enough to do better. Why not simply give Quebec the power to manage its own immigration?
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Context: House Hansard - 62 - May/2/22
Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)
  • May/2/22 2:41:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would again like to thank the member for the question, but he is well aware that Quebec sets the selection criteria for immigrants coming to Quebec, and that includes language skills. Immigration is crucial and, as I have already told the member, we have welcomed more than 50,000 new permanent residents to the province. Quebec and Canada are working together to welcome more immigrants here, in Canada.
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Context: House Hansard - 62 - May/2/22
Hon. Pablo Rodriguez (Minister of Canadian Heritage, Lib.)
  • May/2/22 2:43:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec reaps significant benefits from the Canada—Quebec accord on immigration. In fact, Quebec selects 74% of permanent immigrants. It sets the criteria, including knowledge of French. Quebec also determines the profiles for temporary foreign workers and foreign students, including their knowledge of the French language. In 2020-2021 alone, we sent nearly $700 million to Quebec to help integrate immigrants, which includes French-language learning. We are working together despite the fact that the Bloc would like to stir up trouble where there is none. We are working well together.
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Context: House Hansard - 62 - May/2/22
Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)
  • May/2/22 2:57:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that immigration is vital to fighting the labour shortage. IRCC is prioritizing work permit processing for in-demand occupations in industries such as health, agriculture, food and seafood production. In the first quarter of 2022, we processed more than 100,000 applications for work permits. That is nearly double the number of work permits processed in the same period last year. We will continue to ensure that Canadian employers have access to the workers they need to ensure the economic recovery of Canada and Quebec.
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