Asylum seekers: Legault orders Carney to intervene with his minister

François Legault is urging the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, to “intervene” with his Minister of Immigration in the case of asylum seekers.

In a statement sent to Radio-Canada on Tuesday, the office of Quebec Minister Lena Diab argued that Ottawa was already doing enough for Quebec. The amount transferred would reach more than $1.5 billion for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

“Beyond the money, we have a big problem in Montreal. We have more than 100,000 asylum seekers. We have almost half of Canada’s asylum seekers,” Legault said in a press scrum in Quebec City. 

“It’s not just a question of money; it’s a question of integration into French. With 43 per cent of the population on the Island of Montreal being Francophone, we need to reduce the number of asylum seekers in Montreal.”

“I am asking Mark Carney to intervene with his Minister of Immigration to explain that we need to reduce the number of asylum seekers in Montreal,” he insisted. 

From Ottawa, Carney indicated that immigration to Canada was “under control”.

“Asylum seekers have fallen sharply by a third (…) and we will defend the French language with the largest investments in the cultural sector in Canadian history,” he stated during question period.

Last month, Quebec’s Immigration Minister, Jean-François Roberge, reiterated his threat to cut social assistance to asylum seekers if Ottawa did not do more. 

“Ultimately, the Quebec government will significantly reduce social assistance so that these people are encouraged to go to another province,” he said.

These remarks followed Legault’s 2024 proposal to forcibly relocate some 80,000 asylum seekers; he had clashed with the then-federal Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller.

Moreover, Legault gave Miller a stern talking-to on Tuesday, accusing the new Minister responsible for Official Languages ​​of talking “nonsense” about French in Quebec.

Earlier in the day, Miller stated that he was fed up with the debate on the decline of French, which he found too politicized. “As a Quebecer, I’m quite tired of this debate, which is generally about identity and elections,” he said.

“For two years, from 2022 to 2024, the percentage of Francophones in Montreal has fallen from 48 per cent  to 43 per cent. And now, Marc Miller, the new federal Minister of Culture, comes along and says he’s fed up with the debate about the decline of French. What a disgrace!” fumed Legault.

“Marc Miller is a disgrace to all Quebecers,” he added.

– With information from Émilie Bergeron, in Ottawa

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews