‘We feel broken’: Quebec PEQ cancellation leaves migrant worker’s family in limbo

Ala Jarallah came to Quebec from Tunisia in 2023 with his wife and young daughter on a tourist visa.

They relied on an immigration consultant who, he says, misled him and funnelled him into a job where he was illegally assigned dangerous work.

“We were looking for somebody to help us to change our situation to a legal situation, so we found somebody, but he took us to very, very long and hard ways,” said Jarallah.

While working a job he says he never should have been assigned, Jarallah suffered a severe workplace accident that left him without part of his finger. He says his wife had to work two jobs for two years to keep the family afloat.

Jarallah hoped his family would finally gain some stability after earning permanent residency through the PEQ, Quebec’s fast-track immigration program. But with the province cancelling the program, he says he now faces an uncertain future, and says the decision has left them devastated.

He says he wants the government to remember that behind every file number is a person and years of work they were ready to give back to Quebec.

“With what the government has declared already, it’s crushed us completely and really we feel broken,” said Jarallah.

-With files from Radia Tidafi, OMNI News