Quebec to table 'social contract' bill for immigrants amid cuts to integration programs

CBC

28-01-2025

The Quebec government is planning to table a bill on Thursday to define a new integration model for immigrants, with the aim of making clear to them that Quebec is a nation, the immigration minister announced.
Jean-François Roberge, Quebec's minister responsible for immigration and the French language, said on Tuesday it was "about time" the government created mechanisms to ensure immigrants or "people who identify themselves as members of cultural minorities" are adhering to what he described as Quebec's common culture.
"We don't want ghettos. We want one society," Roberge told reporters in Quebec City.
Interculturalism — the integration model the provincial government favours over Canada's multiculturalism approach — emphasizes the primacy of Quebec francophone culture in a pluralist society.
However, the absence of a legal framework for interculturalism has made the integration model insufficient, Roberge said on Tuesday, alluding to the possible violations of the secularism law in some public schools.
"We have a culture. We have some democratic values. Men and women are equal. People coming here must accept that," he said. "After, we want them to contribute to the society."
While Roberge did not provide details on the upcoming bill, he said it would be based on the principle of reciprocity, noting that Quebec is "building a new social contract."
Asked to explain how he wants immigrants to contribute concretely, Roberge said he wants them "to go outside their communities and go speak with us" and attend Fête nationale events.
"We want to see them in our shows. We want to see them in our movies. We want to see them everywhere. They are welcome," Roberge said.
Premier François Legault spent the lion's share of an afternoon news conference discussing U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threat, which, if imposed, would devastate the Quebec economy.
But Legault said despite the looming economic crisis, he wasn't willing to forget about what he described as his other main priority: protecting Quebec values and Quebec identity.
"I think we can work on both priorities," he said.
Conflicting with cuts to integration programs
According to data provided to Radio-Canada by the province's French language commissioner, the number of people enrolled in French courses essentially more than doubled in a year. In 2023, between June 1 and Sept. 30, there were 13,591 students enrolled in classes. For the same period in 2024, the number of students was 32,040.
But in September, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government announced it would be ending financial support for people enrolled in part-time French-language courses and reduce funding for French-language learning to match the amounts allocated in 2020-2021.
The decision led to the cancellation of French-language courses across the province, with many teachers facing job loss.
By December, after public outcry, the government pledged $10 million to allow school service centres to reopen the French classes that they were forced to shut down due to a lack of funding.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said on Tuesday that "it's a bit late" for the Legault government to introduce an integration model after cutting spending to French-language programs and not having full powers over immigration.
"If Canada doesn't agree with that model … how do you defend staying within Canada while knowing that Canada will impose on you its model and its models of integration?" St-Pierre Plamondon said. "That is the fundamental contradiction of the CAQ and it has never been resolved."
Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal also referenced what she called the incoherence of the government's messaging, saying Roberge's bill seems mainly to announce "good principles."
She said the government should stop "pointing to immigration as the cause of all the problems that the government creates," such as issues related to public services and housing.
Quebec Liberal Party interim leader Marc Tanguay said his party is open to discussing integration issues, but the bill "won't advance Quebec culture" if the government continues to cut millions of dollars from the education system.
"Integration is, first of all, the French language, and they're not giving the classes," Tanguay said.