A Quebec employers' group is calling on governments to base immigration on labor needs, not politics

As Quebec and Canada continue to go back and forth over immigration powers, one Quebec employer group says the issue has more to do with politics than immigration.

The Conseil du patronat du Québec, which represents the interests of employers in the province, says governments should stop playing politics with the issue and make decisions based on the numbers and needs of the market.

With an aging population and more than 150,000 job vacancies across the province, the organization says temporary immigration is needed to fill those positions.

It comes after Quebec Premier Francois Legault threatened the idea of ​​a “referendum” on immigration if the federal government doesn't act quickly to control the influx of temporary immigrants. Legault claims the immigrant population is straining Quebec's health, education and housing systems.

But Welcome Collective's Melissa Claes says the problem isn't temporary immigration, but instead the government's lack of political will to improve the system, including access to employment support.

“We are deeply troubled by the provincial government's insistence on blaming immigrants for problems that have existed for a long time, decades in some cases,” Claeys said.

“We want to see funding to support refugee claimants to find work, to connect employers who really need workers with the workforce who are looking for work.”

On Monday, newcomer Henri Libondelo waited outside the Quebec Services office in Montreal to apply for a work permit.

Libondelo, who arrived four months ago from the Republic of Congo, said some days the line outside the office wraps around the building.

“The office opens at 8:30 a.m., but people come here sometimes at 6 a.m. to line up, and the line is very long,” Libondelo said.

According to Libondelo, the problem is not the number of newcomers, but the organization.

“Now I have a hard time looking for a job. “Since I came here, it has been difficult to find a job,” said Libondelo.

“It's very dangerous for refugees to be exposed to this kind of rhetoric from our elected officials,” Claeys said.

– With Canadian Press files