Thread: Quebec: control of immigration wanted & French Rules

PQ wants full immigration control for Quebec

Marianne White
CanWest News Service
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news ... 11&k=72214

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

QUEBEC -- Quebec should have total control over its immigration to send a clear message to newcomers that the province is a francophone state, not a bilingual one, Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois said on Tuesday.

The comments came as Action Democratique du Quebec Leader Mario Dumont continues to take heat for suggesting the province has reached the limit of how many immigrants it can assimilate, and as a politically-charged commission starts to look into the whole immigration issue and how to accommodate for religious and cultural differences. In Quebec, the issue is widely referred to as reasonable accommodation.

Marois believes Quebec needs to attract more immigrants, especially to cope with a declining birthrate and employment needs, but she stressed the province has to send a very clear message to those who decide to settle in Quebec.

"Many of them believe that they are settling in a bilingual state. It's not true. Quebec is a francophone state that respects the rights of its anglophone minority. And when you live in Quebec, you live in French," Marois stated.

She pressed Premier Jean Charest to negotiate with the federal government to gain control over the 40 per cent of immigrants to the province that it does not already handle. Under a 1991 agreement, Quebec can choose the immigrants who have money to invest here and decide how it integrates them. But Ottawa keeps dealing with refugees and immigrants coming to reunite with family members.

Marois argued it's fair to ask for that since Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government recognized Quebec as a nation. Having additional powers would allow Quebec to choose immigrants that will more easily blend into Quebec's culture and values, Marois added.

Immigration Minister Yolande James retorted that the province already chooses 60 per cent of its immigrants and can target the specific types of workers most needed.

"We have all the power we need to select our immigrants," she said coming out of a cabinet meeting.

The PQ leader also joined the Liberals in asking Dumont to clarify his statement that the limit on immigration has already been reached. "Why did he say that? It's easy to say something like that, but when you have to prove it, it's more difficult," Marois said.

Dumont has so far refused to explain his comments.

"It's about time he stops hiding," said Natural Resources Minister Claude Bechard.

Dollar Store owner J. Grover, who came to Quebec from India in 1982, did not appreciate Dumont's comments and said immigrants get along just fine if they learn the language of the province where they live.

"I don't approve of what he said and I don't know why someone at his level would say something like that," Grover said.

But taxi driver Jimmy Lalande, 28, blamed the federal government for letting in too many immigrants and said it's irritating when French Canadians are expected to adapt to the cultures and customs of these new citizens. "They [immigrants] come here to have a better life and it shouldn't be us adapting to their mentality," Lalande said.

Meanwhile, a commission charged with examining Quebec's immigrant integration issue laid out some of its plans on Tuesday.

After five months of organization, research and focus groups, the commission has released a public consultation document, and unveiled a schedule of official hearings and informal "town hall" meetings across Quebec, extending from August until December.

The commission is taking the widest possible view of its mandate, and will examine the root problem of integration in Quebec society, said Gerard Bouchard, a sociologist and historian who is co-chairing the commission with philosopher Charles Taylor.

"Everyone knew there were immigrants in Quebec," he noted. "But it's now as if, all of a sudden, Quebecers have really become aware of immigrants."

French-Canadians, a majority in Quebec but a minority in Canada and North America, seem to feel insecure in the face of other minorities in the province, Bouchard added.

Better stop it now before you don't recognize your country anymore!!


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