Quebec has always had a different kind of relationship with immigration. It is partly because Quebec, being the only french speaking province in North America, is also strugling to find its own identity.
On the other hand Quebec knows and understand that in order to stay competitive in Canada with its aging demography the only salvation will come from a very strong immigration. But immigration is not always the easy solution, as we can see from the media circus created by the Bouchard-Taylor commission the reasonable accommodation. Immigration is not easy for Quebec but it is even more frustrating for a number of immigrants who are victims of a bipolar welcome.
On one side Quebec tells them: ” Please come to Quebec, we need inteligent and experienced workers in order to replace our old ones” and when they finally arrive, with their hopes up, Quebec says ” We are sorry, we know you have been working as a doctor all your life but here you need to go back to med school and do it all over again. But hey, in the meantime here is a book on how to better understand the culture in Quebec”.
This situation creates a series of negative effects.
- It greatly diminishes the positive impact a qualified immigration can have on Quebec’s economy
- It creates a lot of social tensions between different ethnic groups and locals
- It pushes experienced and competent immigrants to leave Quebec and settle in other provinces
Recently though we have seen in Quebec a very strong sign that those times might end soon. Three ministries are trying to come together in a joint effort to eliminate those problems and better integrate the economic immigrants with local employers.
The ministry of employment, of economic development and immigration are currently working on a new approach to tackle this recurring problem of integrating economic immigrants through work.
This is all very wishful thinking but as we have seen in the past, major changes happen very slowly if at all. Those changes in the way Quebec deals with its economic immigration are necessary and long waited for. Will the minority government in power now show enough leadership to implement those changes? Only time will tell.