Premier Legault considers restrictions on temporary foreign worker passes

'I am confident that we will succeed in finding compromises with the federal government'

Premier Legault considers restrictions on temporary foreign worker passes

Premier François Legault is considering restricting the influx of temporary foreign workers into Quebec.

Speaking at a press briefing in Sherbrooke following the CAQ caucus sessions, Legault indicated mulling over tightening the admission criteria for these specific workers.

“We’re not ruling it out. We’re looking into it,” he said, according to La Presse.

The selection of temporary foreign workers is done through various programs, falling within the purview of both Quebec and Ottawa. However, their numbers have shown an upward trend in recent times.

According to La Presse, Quebec currently hosts over 500,000 temporary immigrants, a significant portion of whom are temporary foreign workers, with others comprising students and asylum seekers.

The media report highlighted Quebec’s population surpassing the nine million milestone.

Legault expressed optimism regarding ongoing discussions with Federal Minister Marc Miller, noting a sense of receptiveness.

“I am confident that we will succeed in finding compromises with the federal government. We would like to have more powers in immigration but we already have them and we are using them,” said Legault.

“As we said and as I wrote to Justin Trudeau, having nearly 150,000 asylum seekers at the same time puts pressure on housing, on health and education services, and also poses a challenge for the future of French. Our position is that we need to reduce the number of asylum seekers.”

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