Premier François Legault has decided to rule out paying asylum seekers to leave Quebec.
Last week in Paris, the Quebec premier declared that 80,000 migrants in the province had to be forced to move, even though the federal government had warned him this went against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
On Wednesday, La Presse revealed that his government weighed other options. Among them were paying compensation to asylum seekers in exchange for their departure, as well as reducing services offered by the provincial government, like the social assistance cheque.
At the National Assembly on Wednesday, Legault did not deny those options had been considered.
“It’s not something we’re considering,” he said without elaborating.
“This is not part of our plan at the moment,” added Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge.
In Paris, Legault assured that forced transfers could be done “humanely,” before being harshly criticized by the opposition parties in the National Assembly, who said they found the premier’s comments shameful.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews