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The manufacturing industry representatives of Quebechave urged the Quebec government rethink its immigration policies in an open letter sent to federal and provincial governments. The letter from the Manufacturiersetexportateurs du Quebec (MEQ) and signed by 25 manufacturing industry representatives was sent to the government in the context of the industry facing a dire shortage of workers.
According to the industry representatives, the Quebec manufacturing industry is currently facing a chronic shortage of nearly 20000 workers. They believe that increasing the immigration levels would help to resolve the labour crisis in the province.The Coalition Avenir Quebec(CAQ) that came to power in 2018 cut down the immigration levels by 20 percent in 2019.
The letter points out that Quebec does not have enough skilled workers. It leads to contracts and business opportunities are being refused. As a result, investment and product development is slowing down. The letter also brings the attention of the government to the issues that arise when the employers are compelled to hire unqualified labourers.
Further, the letter has urged the government to bring about necessary changes in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in order to help employers hire skilled workers without delay, as the immigration reform is a long-term process.
Quebec has one of the tightest labour markets in Canada. But the CAQ government reduced the annual immigration levels of Quebec from 50,000 in 2018 to 40,000 in 2019 when they came to power. The Quebec government has revealed that they have plans to increase the immigration levels again to above 50,000 slowly by 2022. But according to the industry experts, it is too little, too late.
Another immigration reform introduced by the CAQ government when it came to power was the scrapping out 16000 existing applications under the Quebec Skilled Worker Program. The move was part of speeding up the introduction of Arrima, the Expression of Interest system of application for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program. However, Quebec has invited only those with a job offer or those legally residing in Quebec after their previous QSWP applications were scrapped, through the Arrima system.
Quebec is the right destination for those immigrants looking for better career opportunities and high standards of living. If you wish to know more about Quebec migration, get in touch with the expert immigration consultants of CanApprove now!
