Quebec imposes ‘values test’
IMMIGRANTS NEED TO SCORE AT LEAST 75%
QUEBEC • The Coalition Avenir Québec government will impose a values test on immigrants seeking to live in the province to prove they understand “democratic values and Quebec values.”
Starting in January. an immigrant in the qualified worker category, which Quebec controls, will have to obtain a certificate of selection. The certificate enables them to apply for permanent residency, which remains under federal jurisdiction.
The terms of the regulation were published in the government’s Official Gazette Wednesday.
Premier François Legault said the values test will be similar to the Canadian citizenship exam new arrivals must already undergo.
“This sends a strong signal that if you want to come and live in Quebec you have to know the values of Quebec,” Legault said.
He said the test fulfils an election promise and said it’s normal for arrivals to learn the values of their new society.
“I wouldn’t want someone to be surprised to find out that in Quebec persons in positions of authority are not allowed to wear religious symbols,” he said, referring to the new secularism law.
The exact wording of the test is not mentioned in the regulation made public Wednesday but it specifies it will conform with the values spelled out in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
A passing grade will be 75 per cent and in case of failure, it will be possible to retake the test; after failing twice, the only option will be to take a course on Quebec values.
Immigrants or the children of immigrants with a medical condition will be exempt from having to pass the test.
The regulation is not as tough as the original plan, in which the CAQ had wanted to make passing such a test a condition of residency, applied at the end of the application process.
But during the federal election, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau recognized Quebec’s right to impose a values test as part of its own immigrant selection process, an opening the CAQ government has seized.
Legault described the plan as a step forward and he still hopes to pry more powers over immigration away from the federal government on the issue of permanent residency.
“It’s a first step to say we will do the test before (issuing a certificate of selection),” the premier said. “We will continue to negotiate with the federal government.
He disputed the idea that the test will make Quebec seem intolerant.
“If you compare our test to the test which already exists in Canada about knowing Canada it’s not very different. Of course we have secularism where there is a difference.
“I think it’s important in Quebec. We are a nation, we are a distinct society, we have our values, we have our charter which people know about.”
Initial reaction to the plan was mixed.
“The desire of the government, since the start, has been to restrict the arrival of immigrants,” said interim Liberal Leader Pierre Arcand, “and Lord knows we are still suffering from a pretty dramatic labour shortage in Quebec.”
Quebec’s business lobby has asked for the province’s immigration target to increase to 60,000 annually to cope with the province’s chronic labour shortages.
On Wednesday, Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-barrette tabled Quebec’s plan to accept between 43,000 and 44,500 for the year 2020. That is up from the 40,000 limit in 2019.
“The successful integration of immigrants increases their contribution to the dynamism of Quebec’s economy,” Jolin-barrette said.