Quebec to study language criteria for asylum seekers

While welcoming the report by French Language Commissioner Benoît Dubreuil, the Quebec government declined to comment on his recommendation to divide asylum seekers in Canada according to language, but it's not closing the door either.

In short, Quebec would keep French-speaking asylum seekers, while English-speaking ones would be redirected to other Canadian provinces.

"It's something we need to look at. It's something we need to review," said Jean-François Roberge, Minister of French Language and Canadian Relations, during a press scrum at the National Assembly on Thursday.

"We're asking the federal government to act on a voluntary basis to distribute asylum seekers across Canada. After that, the means it uses to do so are at its discretion ... What is urgent is to reduce the number of asylum seekers coming to Quebec," added Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette.

Minister Roberge says the "report illustrates very well that the massive arrival of temporary immigrants poses difficulties for the French language in Quebec, particularly asylum seekers."

The report states that from 2016 to 2023, Quebec would have gone from 86,065 to 528,034 temporary immigrants. "From 2021 to 2023, the non-permanent population that did not know French would have practically tripled. In October 2023, it was likely to be between 155,351 and 191,015 people," reads the commissioner's report tabled Wednesday in the National Assembly.

The Parti Québécois (PQ) is in favour of Dubreuil's proposal to divide asylum seekers in Canada according to language. "Canada and Quebec still have the right to choose how [asylum seekers] are distributed, based on capacity criteria, and French is one of them," said PQ MNA Pascal Bérubé.

His colleague, Pascal Paradis, maintains that it's a question of incentives but admits that other criteria, such as family reunification, must be taken into account.

"What the Commissioner is urging us to do is to take language into account in a major way ... And it's absolutely important for us, in managing immigration policies and also in managing asylum seekers."

The Quebec Liberal Party also favours better distribution of asylum seekers, but said language should not be a criterion.

"When it comes to asylum seekers, as we've always said, Quebec has done its part. Now, it's up to the federal government to ensure a fair distribution," said interim leader Marc Tanguay.

Québec solidaire also believes that a more equitable redistribution of asylum seekers is necessary, but their movement should be voluntary.

"The English language criterion can be a criterion, but it must remain voluntary. We won't put people who don't want to go elsewhere on a bus. In any case, we can't do that," said Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, the QS critic for immigration, francization and integration.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 15, 2024.