Latest news with #InstitutduQuébec
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Quebec floats cutting services for non-permanent residents
Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge said he isn't ruling out the possibility of cutting services for non-permanent residents in the province if the federal government fails to halve its annual immigration targets. At a news conference on Thursday, Roberge presented a report outlining the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government's potential immigration targets for 2026-29. "If we're forced to make difficult decisions, we'll make them. We're not at that point yet, and we don't want to get there" Roberge said, underlining that the provincial government spent $500 million last year to support asylum seekers. He added that the state of public services in the province is "unfair" to Quebecers "who pay taxes" and are already struggling to see family doctors and find housing. The report describes three scenarios the government is considering to bring down the number of permanent residents from this year's target of 66,500. Thresholds could be lowered to 45,000, 35,000 or 25,000 over the next four years. Roberge said that the government would focus its non-permanent immigration reduction efforts in Montreal and Laval to facilitate newcomers settling in regional areas, where French is less threatened. He said it also intends to prioritize current non-permanent residents for permanent residency. Immigrants admitted through the Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires (PTET), which is currently suspended until Nov. 30, could decrease from 72,000 to 65,000 over the same period. The government could decrease the number of international students from 128,000 to 110,00 by 2029, according to the document. 'Disconnect' between immigration targets, business sector The CAQ government's proposed targets come on the heels of the Institut du Québec suggesting an increase in the number of new permanent residents to lessen the province's reliance on non-permanent residents. The report by the Institut du Québec, published on Wednesday, outlines several scenarios, including one that suggested raising permanent immigration levels in the province to up to 90,000. According to the institute's study, focusing on permanent immigration is preferable to temporary immigration since "people who choose to settle permanently make a greater contribution to Quebec society and the economy." Véronique Proulx, president and executive director of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, said the ideas the CAQ government put forward today were surprising and disappointing. "There's really a disconnect between what the government is proposing today and what the companies in the regions of Quebec, but also in Montreal and Laval, are asking for," Proulx said. "The number one thing they're asking for is more immigration. Temporary immigration but permanent immigration as well." Arcelle Appolon, executive director of Maison d'Haïti in Montreal, said the government's immigration targets were "not realistic simply because for the past couple of years, the thresholds have not been respected." Quebec is projected to accept 10,000 more permanent residents in 2025 than it planned because of immigrants who completed the Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ). "We are quite aware of the reality of what happens when people come and when we hear their stories, we see that the [government] narrative that is currently in place differs greatly from what they're telling us," she said. "We do hope that the government chooses to re-evaluate their numbers and consider the experts' opinions on the topic." Public consultations on the CAQ government's immigration plans will take place in August.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Increasing permanent immigration for now could reduce temporary residency: Institut du Québec
Temporarily increasing the number of new permanent immigrants to Quebec could reduce reliance on temporary residency, according to the Institut du Québec (IQ). In a new report unveiled on Wednesday, IQ suggests several possible courses of action in a context where Quebec and Ottawa are seeing a decline in immigration flows compared with recent years. In one scenario, IQ proposes that Quebec plan for a temporarily higher permanent immigration threshold, up to 90,000. This target would be accompanied by a 'clear trajectory' back towards 60,000, 'to allow the integration of skilled temporary residents already present and to reduce delays in access to permanent residence.' IQ points out that Quebec could facilitate the transition to permanent residency for highly skilled temporary residents and maintain a pathway to permanent residency for international students who have graduated in Quebec. According to IQ, 'it is preferable to focus on permanent immigration rather than temporary residency' since 'people who choose to settle permanently make a greater contribution to Quebec society and the economy.' 'That said, temporary residents play an essential role in meeting certain specific labour market needs or serving as a gateway to permanent residence for skilled profiles,' adds IQ. The institute says it has also explored scenarios where Quebec would set its permanent immigration thresholds at 35,000 or 60,000, but believes that this would force the province to take in more temporary residents to meet needs. There are currently around 600,000 temporary residents in Quebec. For several months now, Quebec Premier François Legault has been hammering home the point that Quebec's capacity to take in newcomers has been exceeded and that temporary residents are putting pressure on housing and public services. – This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 4, 2024.
CBC
24-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Quebec's budget will include measures to address Trump's tariff threats — but they'll be expensive
Social Sharing Quebec will present its budget on Tuesday and the province's finance minister Eric Girard has signalled it will include financial supports to help businesses adapt to tariffs and the changing economic situation with the U.S. But the new measures will increase costs at a time when Quebec is running a historically large deficit and struggling to rein in spending. Last year, Quebec presented a budget with a projected deficit of $11 billion — its highest ever, Girard said at the time. On Friday, Girard signalled that the projected deficit this year will be even larger because of economic headwinds caused by tariffs. "There's a lot of uncertainty. It has an impact on the economic situation," he said. "It has an impact on the measures we have to take." But Girard said the province was still committed to "responsible management of public finances." There is as of yet no indication on exactly how large of a deficit Quebec will run in 2025-26, but Girard has indicated that the government supports to help businesses cope with tariff threats will have a cost and that will mean increases to public spending. He said last week the government was planning to support businesses affected by tariffs and economic uncertainty in three phases. "There are emergency measures … to support businesses," he said. "There will be a period of transition because the economy will transform and there are important efforts at the level of innovation, investing to help companies to be able to face the new economic challenges." Much of the province's deficit from 2024-25 — $3.2 billion — was structural. That means that the province had some expensive budget items that were considered temporary costs, but even in a perfectly healthy economy, the cost of running the government would still exceed tax revenue by $3.2 billion. With that kind of spending, the government stands little chance of presenting a balanced budget in the next five years. The Institut du Québec (IDQ), a non-profit economic research institute, said in a report earlier this month that Quebec will be unable to attain a balanced budget by 2029-30 — as prescribed by law — unless it seriously limits spending or increases taxes. The IDQ said Quebec could reach a balanced budget sooner than projected by raising the provincial sales tax 0.5 per cent — or by drastically reducing spending. The institute said that despite a slowdown in public spending, Quebec is still taking on too much debt and is in no place to balance its budget any time soon nor reduce debt-to-GDP ratio to 35.5 per cent — another legal requirement under the Balanced Budget Act. Santé Quebec, the new Crown corporation in charge of the health-care system, has attempted to reduce spending throughout the network while reducing the impact on patients, but it has so far proven difficult. Girard told reporters last week that he was not ruling out raising taxes — but he said the government would not increase the sales tax as the IDQ suggested. He declined to provide more details about what could be in the budget, beyond suggesting that Quebec was prepping for economic uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump's tariff threats. "You'll see that the government has been thoughtful, has supported the economy in different phases," Girard said. Tariff turmoil could also throw the economy into a recession, Girard has warned. If that happens, it would constrain Quebec's public spending even further because when the economy contracts, government revenues tend to dip and program costs for things like unemployment tend to rise.
