12-05-11
Kathleen Weil the Quebec Immigration minister recently released a policy paper on Immigration Quebec. The paper discusses Quebec’s plans for permanent residency programs including how its selection certificates will be divided among the various Immigration Quebec programs.
At the beginning of the 20th century, most individuals applying for Canadian immigration were from Europe, with the most immigrants coming from Great Britain. Canada favored admitting immigrants who were light skinned and felt a certain obligation to admit a relatively large wave of European immigrants after the Second World War.
After the civil rights movements in the United States gained popularity Canadian immigration policy became increasingly progressive and largely abandoned policies whereby immigrants were selected on race, ethnicity, country of origin, religious beliefs or sex.
When Quebec became authorized to select immigrants who have the intention of settling in Quebec, Immigration Quebec also created programs similar to Canadian immigration programs based on nondiscrimination and upholding the values of the Canadian Charter or Rights and Freedoms.
However, in 2004 Immigration Quebec decided to markedly change its course. To justify this dramatic shift in policy, Immigration Quebec cited the need to support and promote its socio-cultural heritage. The change included the institution of quotas for the issuance of selection certificates based on geographic location. The paper suggests that Immigration Quebec should focus their efforts on areas outside of North Africa, despite the fact that North Africa has a largely French speaking population.
The Quebec Immigration minister plans to continue these quotas by geographic origin on the basis that immigrants from certain locations find it more difficult to enter the workforce and integrate into Quebec society. This is not only because of racism in the Quebec workforce but largely because the quality of education or work experience in some foreign countries is not at a level that meets Quebec’s workforce standards.
The Quebec immigration process is thorough assessing individuals in a number of different areas, however an immigration officer can never be certain that the person they are selecting on the basis of a paper application or in one personal selection interview is likely to be employed in Quebec or that their education and skills will transfer seamlessly.
It could be argued then that perhaps the issue is with Immigration Quebec’s selection process and not with the immigrants applying from certain geographic regions.
For more information about immigrating to Canada, contact FWCanada – Canadian Immigration Law Firm
