A Superior Court judge ruled on Monday that the Quebec government must continue to process immigration applications from skilled workers whose fates had been left in limbo by a proposed revamp to the system.
Bill 9, which was introduced to the National Assembly earlier this month, would throw out a backlog of 18,000 applications in favour of a fresh start.
While the Coalition Avenir Quebec government has promised that the new system would better match skilled workers to job openings, the proposed legislation prompted an outcry from many of the workers, some of whom have been navigating the immigration system for years.
In the ruling judge Frederic Bachand said the government must keep processing applications until Bill 9 actually becomes law.
He noted the injunction was justified by the urgency of the case, with thousands of lives affected by the government not continuing to process applications.
“The passing of time will have direct consequences for candidates who would have received (an immigration certificate) had processing cases not been suspended,” he said.
In a statement, Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said the government would accept the judge's ruling and would continue processing the applications.
He later reiterated that sentiment in person.
Ho Sung Kim, an attorney with the Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers, the organization that filed for the injunction, welcomed the judge’s ruling, saying that some applicants can expect to receive decisions on their status within the next few days. However, he noted that the government would have another chance to argue its case in 10 days.
“The court has accepted most of our arguments that were presented last Friday. It will be the minister’s job to offer other proof if they wish to reverse the judgment,” he said.
"The Ministry is capable of processing about 1,000, 2,000 files per month. So that means within 10 days they could process one-third of it. They could actually process quite a lot, 300 to 500 applications."
The Immigration Lawyers are heading to Quebec City on Tuesday to speak at public hearings regarding Bill 9.