More than 142,000 people are waiting for their permanent residence in Quebec, due to the quota imposed on the IRCC

At a time when the Caquist government has estimated the decreases in the decrease in permanent immigration, the number of pending files awaited proportions never seen in certain categories. More than 142,000 people are waiting for their permanent residence in the province and the deadlines are most of them lengthen.

“In the categories of fundamental rights, we are heading for the disaster,” says Laurence Tremp, co -president of the Quebec Association of Lawyers in Immigration Laws (AQAADI). It refers to family reunification and various categories of humanitarian immigration. “I don’t chew my words, it’s a real scandal,” she formulates.

In these categories, people are mostly installed here and work, but are “stuck” awaiting their permanent residence. “It’s unacceptable,” insists M^e Diz, in addition to “artificially inflating temporary figures”. It thus refers to the repeatedly displayed will of the Legault government to radically reduce the number of temporary immigrants.

Including the arrears in economic programs, 142,500 people are pending, even if they have been approved as qualifying for permanent residence, or even invited by Quebec to submit their request. These are not administrative delays, but a delay indeed created by the quotas of Quebec, confirms the lawyer.

From one government to another

Mechanics is ping-pong, but it is rather clear: the provincial ministry of immigration, francization and integration (MIFI) approves or selects requests. These are then sent to Ottawa, but they sleep there while waiting for a place in the quota established by Quebec.

In other words: the Federal Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada (IRCC) only treats the number of requests dictated by the Legault government, which means that other files accumulate.

The process is a little different in the case of the category of refugees recognized on site (accepted asylum seekers) or cases of humanitarian considerations (often called the last chance process).

These significant delays were counted at 1^is Last June, at the very moment when the Minister of Immigration, Jean-François Roberge, put on the table three scenarios of drop in permanent immigration: 25,000, 35,000 and 45,000. The last time Quebec has granted permanent residence to less than 25,000 people dates back to 1986. The average of the 1950s and 1960s reached more than 30,000 permanent residents per year. The consultation on these questions begins on September 16 at the National Assembly.

In front of my clients, currently, I have to give all the options, and an option considered seriously is to settle elsewhere than in Quebec

Endless deadlines and never seen

As a result, people already recognized as legitimate refugees could wait until 18 years before receiving their permanent residence, if the lowest permanent immigration scenario goes ahead.

In the humanitarian category, the deadline, already 50 months in Quebec, becomes even more unprecedented: the scenario with 25,000 permanent residents descends up to only 200 admissions per year. People who have been given a last chance to regularize or even Ukrainian nationals under a policy of public interest would find themselves pending for several decades.

Family grouping has also caused a lot of ink to flow in recent years. Deadlines in Quebec are currently displayed at 37 months, against 11 months in the rest of Canada.

“In front of my clients, currently, I have to give all the options, and an option considered seriously is to settle elsewhere than in Quebec,” says lawyer Patrice Brunet. However, these families are “Quebec tax payers”, and in which the province “has often invested in education for example”.

Spouses awaiting sponsorship can have access to an open work permit, but some are refused and cannot even live in the territory while waiting. “The state is entering the bedroom and says: you made the mistake of falling in love or getting married with a stranger, you will wait to start your life project,” he illustrates.

“Being with your family, your spouse, your children is a fundamental right,” notes Mr.^e Caliber.

Economical and legacies

In economic immigration programs, the number of pending files is not as substantial, note the three lawyers consulted.

“The CAQ’s legacy should be to serve the inventory that has been created for political purposes,” said the maid lapointe immigration lawyer. The Legault government could, for example, decide to empty all categories in its next planning, before “starting from scratch” with the chosen model.

It would be possible to do so “without asking for anything from the federalty”, since Quebec has this prerogative. But is it still politically possible, after having spoken of a drop in immigration since 2018? “It is up to them to justify their decline, as in other major files,” he continues.

In return, he recommends creating a permanent commissioner for immigration programs. It would be a kind of “immigration police,” he says, which would notably monitor fraudulent schemes and could also sound the alarm if too large volumes accumulate in the migratory machine. “The government is too slow to react. You have to know at any time where the boat leaves, ”he says.

Previous?

Has it ever happened that we absorb these arrears? In 2019, Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette had eliminated 18,000 immigration files, before being ordered by the Superior Court to resume the exam. These files were however not treated and not selected as is currently the case with the 142,500 people pending.

Laurence Tremp also recalls that Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration between 2008 and 2013, had also eliminated certain grandparent files that have been waiting for sponsorships for over eight years. But the difference here is that these people were not installed in Canada, unlike the largest current arrears in humanitarian immigration.

Acceleration could come from an exceptional program, if Quebec decided for example to process these files outside quota, or from Ottawa, says M^e Lapointe, even if he doubts it. Former immigration minister Marc Miller had also suggested that he was ready to go beyond the Quebec threshold for family reunification.

Aqaadi argues that there is nothing in the Canada-Québec agreement which would prevent it from doing so. “Our interpretation is that Quebec does not have the competence to limit in these categories. We must at most take it into account when we make forecasts, ”explains M^e Caliber. We previously talked about “target” or “objective”, rather than “quota” or “limit”, which constitutes a “drift” in the eyes of the professional association.

“But there is no political will to stand up to Quebec and it would take a lot of courage,” believes M^e Brunet.

All these experts agree that the immigration system needed “adjustments” or “fixes”, in the words they use. It is now necessary stability and “predictability”, says M^e Lapointe: “We had five immigration ministers and everyone gave a brushstroke. The painting is not beautiful now. »»

“There is no more compass,” illustrates M^e Brunet.

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