Quebec employers group urges governments to base immigration on labour needs, not politics

As Quebec and Canada continue to go back and forth about immigration powers, one employers group in Quebec says the problem has more to do with politics than immigration.

The Conseil du patronat du Québec, which represents the interests of employers in the province, says governments needs to stop playing politics with this issue and simply make decisions based on the numbers and the needs of the market.

With an aging population on the rise and over 150,000 vacant job positions across the province, the organization says temporary immigration is needed to fill those spots.

This comes after Quebec Premier François Legault threatened the idea of holding a “referendum” on immigration if the federal government doesn’t act fast to control the increasing number of temporary immigrants. Legault claims the number of immigrants is straining Quebec’s healthcare, education, and housing systems.

But Melissa Claisse from the Welcome Collective says that temporary immigration is not the issue, instead it’s the government’s lack of political will to improve the system, including access to employment support.

“We’re pretty alarmed by the insistence of the provincial government to make immigrant scapegoats for problems that existed a long time, in some cases decades,” said Claisse.

Adding, “We would love to see funding for refugee claimants to have support for finding a job, to connect employers who really need workers to a workforce that’s desperately looking for jobs.”

On Monday, newcomer Henri Libondelo, was outside a Services Québec office in Montreal, waiting to apply for a work permit.

Libondelo, who arrived four months ago from the Republic of the Congo, says somedays, the line outside the office wraps around the building.

“The office opens at 8:30 a.m., but people arrive here sometimes at six in the morning to stand in line, the line gets very long,” said Libondelo.

Libondelo believes that it’s not the number of newcomers that’s the issue, but rather it’s a matter of organization.

“For the moment, the difficulty that I have is looking for a job. Finding a job has been hard since I’ve arrived here,” said Libondelo.

“It’s really dangerous for refugees to have to face this type of rhetoric from our elected officials,” said Claisse.

-With files from The Canadian Press