Minister Jean Poulet said at a Sept. 21 debate in Morrissey that 80% of immigrants “don’t work, don’t speak French or adhere to the values of Quebec society.” He defended himself by saying that he had “poorly expressed his thoughts”.
“80% of immigrants go to Montreal, don’t work, don’t speak French or adhere to the values of Quebec society,” Mr.
These comments contrast with some statements by outgoing Prime Minister François Legault, who says the CAQ government has ensured “80% of newcomers speak French before they are elected”.
In fact, according to data from the Department of Immigration for 2021, 84.4% of economic immigrants welcomed by Quebec were French-speaking.
In addition, according to Quebec’s statistics agency, the share of immigrants who arrived in Montreal was 65% last year.
Although the question of the number of immigrants Quebec must admit annually has been at the center of debates on immigration since the start of the campaign, Jean Boulet, for his part, believes it is a “purely academic” question. .
“Immigrants, borders, it’s a purely academic debate, you have to make sure you integrate them well,” he said during the Sept. 21 debate.
François Legault disagrees with this opinion. Speaking before the Montreal Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday morning, the outgoing premier confirmed that this is a question of great importance to Quebec.
“Unless we stop the decline of the French, I think it would be a little suicidal for the nation of Quebec, which wants to protect the French language, to increase the immigration limits,” he began.
After these comments resurfaced on social networks, Jean Poulet posted a message on Twitter.
“I am sorry for expressing my thoughts badly. The partial broadcast doesn’t reflect what I think. “We must continue to focus on the welcome, enfranchisement and integration of immigrants who are a source of wealth for Quebec,” he wrote.
“I know John. John doesn’t think so. He made a grave error in judgment. He regrets his words, I regret his words. He said that most of the immigrants don’t work or don’t speak French, which is not true”, replied François Legault in a press conference.
The comments drew the ire of Liberal candidate Isabelle Mélenchon, who described them as “unacceptable”.
“These prejudices are not very similar to what I am telling you on the ground in Verdun. It is sad that the outgoing employment minister thinks this way,” he noted.
“What have you been doing since 2018? As you outgoing immigration minister, your government has even implemented a values test. Tell us about your record in terms of regionalization instead of spreading your prejudices,” said Moncef Terraji, Liberal candidate in Nelligan.
Reluctantly, Jean Poulet addressed the issue of regionalization and suffrage during a debate on September 21, immediately after publishing his now-controversial statement.
“We have set up nine regional directorates (…). These are integration people who provide personalized support for immigrants to integrate in a harmonious way into society and the workplace,” he said at the time.
“Franchising, we have doubled franchise budgets and there are some concerns about that. With Bill 96, we created a one-stop shop called Franchise Quebec, which will simplify the process and provide favorable access,” the minister added.
In collaboration with Genevieve Lajoie
“Music geek. Coffee lover. Devoted food scholar. Web buff. Passionate internet guru.”
