Ottawa won't be able to resist Quebec demands for immigration powers, Legault says

If Quebecers want more powers over immigration, as expressed in Monday’s election, nobody in Ottawa will be able to resist the movement, Premier François Legault said Thursday.

Emerging from a first meeting of his newly elected Coalition Avenir Québec caucus in a Brossard hotel, Legault turned up the heat on Ottawa for its refusal to turn over more powers to Quebec in the name of protecting French.

“If Quebecers want the Quebec government to have more powers over immigration, nobody will be able to resist this,” Legault told reporters on his way out the caucus.

“It becomes a priority, it becomes a priority, and, I said it, even in the next federal campaign.”

“We’ll keep going,” LeBel told reporters. “If you take no for an answer, you don’t go forward, so we don’t take no for an answer.

“We’re going to keep discussing.”

Legault and LeBel’s comments follow those of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and of his Quebec lieutenant, Pablo Rodriguez, on Wednesday. Both said that despite the province’s demands for more power to protect French, they believe Quebec already has all the powers it needs.

Legault made obtaining additional immigration powers, specifically over temporary workers and the family reunification program, a key part of his election campaign.

Twenty-six per cent of new arrivals fall into the category of family reunification, which Ottawa controls. That represents about 10,600 new arrivals a year. Quebec wants a bigger say because about half of those immigrants don’t speak French.

Trudeau has said several times that Ottawa has no intention of ceding the power to Quebec, but Quebec persists. At one point during the campaign, Legault floated the idea of a referendum on immigration to raise the pressure on the federal government.

Now, with 41 per cent of the vote and 90 seats, the government believes its bargaining hand is even stronger.

“For us, the door is not closed on discussions,” LeBel said. “I take what they said as an opening to continue. We will pursue the discussions. We don’t consider this is over.

“We are starting a new mandate, and for us it is a priority to get more powers over immigration. We are convinced we need more to be able to ensure a balance between the shortage of labour and the flourishing of French.

“I heard from Mr. Trudeau a recognition that Quebec should have the necessary tools to function.”

At one point, Legault seemed to link immigration with violence. He later apologized.

“We will re-establish things,” said Chantal Rouleau, one of only two CAQ MNAs elected on the island of Montreal. “It’s the dialogue which needs to be re-established because an error was made. Mr. Boulet apologized.

“They were remarks which largely went beyond what the person thinks.”

She insisted the remarks did not hurt the CAQ’s chances in certain ridings of the election such as Verdun and Maurice-Richard, which both went to Québec solidaire.

For the deputy-premier, Geneviève Guilbault, the key is better communications.

“We can always communicate more and better,” Guilbault told reporters. “I think we need to communicate the idea that we are clearly pro-immigration. It’s important, it makes our society richer, not only on an economic basis but on a human basis.

“We need to be clear that we are welcoming.”

For the coming days, Legault now has to turn to the difficult task of forming his new cabinet. With 89 persons to choose from, the job will be more complicated than it was in 2018.

“We have a great team,” Legault said. “Of course, the biggest challenge for the coming weeks is creating the cabinet because there are so many strong persons that the choices will be difficult.”

He will have to decide between the veterans he already has in place and the many new faces that were elected in addition to ensuring a fair balance between men and women and a representative for each region of Quebec.

While most MNAs cautiously avoided reporter’s questions on whether they see themselves in cabinet, Guilbault took the unusual step of saying she wants to drop her role as the minister responsible for the Quebec City region. She did not explain why, but she is known to have tangled with Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand over the CAQ’s vision for the region.

Certain players are out of the roles they had in the previous government, including Boulet.

The one minister getting his job back is Health Minister Christian Dubé. Legault made that clear during the campaign.

Asked by the Montreal Gazette Tuesday whether he intends to retain the title of Minister Responsible for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers — a role he assigned himself in 2018 — when he forms his new cabinet, Legault said: “I will think about that, but so far, yes.”

On Thursday, the Quebec Community Groups Network, an umbrella group of anglophone organizations, asked Legault to name a full-time minister for the job because it feels Legault does not have time to do it.

“I would say we already had a minister responsible for English-speaking relations,” responded Christopher Skeete, the MNA for the riding of Saint-Rose and parliamentary secretary to Legault for relations with English speaking Quebecers. “His name was François Legault and he was the premier.

“So that’s something that’s already been given. We’ll see what the premier decides next time.”

Legault did briefly address the caucus before reporters were asked to leave the room.

“Yes, it’s a clear mandate, but it means we have big responsibilities,” Legault said.

Legault also told the caucus that after a gruelling 36-day campaign, he is suffering from a cold. He said he had himself tested for COVID-19 three times and the results were negative.

pauthier@postmedia.com

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