Quebec Premier François Legault said that Ottawa must relocate asylum seekers based on a mandatory premise compared to Ottawa’s voluntary idea.
Legault said that should also apply to those already living in the province.
“What I want is for there to be results. So yes, let it be mandatory, but it’s up to the federal government to manage that,” said Legault during a press briefing in the Quebec General Delegation office in Paris on Wednesday.
Legault specified that he wants to transfer “half of the asylum seekers who are currently in Quebec” to other provinces and that according to him, Ottawa could “take inspiration from France.”
He added that “it is not logical” that Quebec received 45 per cent of asylum seekers when the province only has 22 per cent of the Canadian population.
The day before, Legault confirmed that his government had asked Ottawa to establish “waiting zones” for asylum seekers as is done in France.
Ottawa, for its part, believes that it could distribute asylum seekers on a voluntary basis. If this distribution were fair and the federal program were operating at full capacity, Quebec would receive approximately 47,000 fewer asylum seekers, which would bring their number to a proportion equivalent to the size of the Quebec population in the country.
The office of Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller also assured that it is false to think that Ottawa would force provinces to receive more asylum seekers.
Ottawa is offering financial incentives to provinces that want to help but is also threatening to reduce the number of economic immigrants received by provinces that resist cooperation, while many of them are asking for more places to select immigrants.
“If a province is willing to work with us on our priorities, they could get more spots to nominate immigrants who would benefit their economy – unlike provinces that are not willing to work with us,” said Aissa Diop, Minister Miller’s director of communications.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews