According to a business lobby group, Quebec has to substantially hike up immigration levels and mince the requirements of French-language for newcomers so as to match the requirements of the labor market.
As per the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, on an annual basis, Quebec requires approximately 60000 immigrants which is an excess of 20000 then what the government intends to accept in the year 2019, in case it wished to minimize the shortage of labor in the province and enhance economic growth.
Quebec Raises up Immigration Levels
However, Simon Jolin-Barrette, the Immigration Minister has stated that in 2019, the province will take in only 40,000 immigrants which is a drop by 20% in contrast to the last year. Newcomers will have to clear a French-language test as well in case they intend to try for permanent residency.
The minister had also announced that the province will aim at welcoming approximately 52,000 immigrants every year by 2022. However, Jolin-Barrette also stated that these numbers could always change.
The head of Labour and Work Safety of the Federation, Alexandre Gagnon, stated that companies in the province have begun declining the contracts and reducing the operational hours as they are unable to find people for the job. He also stated that the neighbors of the province, as well as the United States, are having a rise in their population, whereas Quebec is losing out on their capability to compete.
12000 Jobs to be filled in Quebec
According to the presentation made by the Federation, there is a requirement to fill about 120000 jobs.
Also, as per the report, the sole reason for a rise in the working population of Quebec in the age group of 25-54 years, is because of the increase in the immigrants.
Gagnon also stated that the strict requirements for French in Quebec for the immigrants are not very productive and forbid strong candidates from getting selected for the jobs. He indicated that the province must not penalize possible immigrants because of the weakness in the French language. He stated that the requirements must not be very strict, as situations must not prevail wherein immigrants are eliminated due to their weakness in the language.