The Quebec and federal governments are locked in a battle over immigration targets, to the point some are calling for a referendum on the matter.
It follows Ottawa’s announcement that it will process about 20,500 permanent residence requests in the family reunification program pending in Quebec and Quebec replying that the federal government is overstepping.
Meanwhile, families like Cynthia Belanger’s are caught in the middle.
Belanger has been waiting to reunite with her husband Eduardo for more than 16 months.
It’s an excruciating time for the couple as Belanger lives in Quebec and Eduardo in Cuba with his children.
“Every time I go there they want to come back with me and they keep my clothes in their hands, they cry a lot,” Belanger says. “Every time I have to leave Cuba is a nightmare.”
Belanger is one of the thousands of Quebecers who are waiting to reunite with their family members who are abroad.
According to the federal government, Quebecers have to wait longer than those in other provinces to have their requests processed.
That’s why on Monday, Canada’s minister of immigration, Marc Miller, wrote a letter to his Quebec counterpart, Christine Fréchette.
In the letter, obtained by Global News, Miller says he’s instructed his ministry to process more than 20,000 requests for permanent residence from families who have already been selected by Quebec through a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ), adding that the requests “will be finalized even if the immigration threshold set by your ministry is reached.”
“That is excellent news indeed. Now there are many questions with the implementation,” said Marie-Gervaise Pilon, vice-president of Québec Réunifié, a group fighting to reduce processing times in the family reunification program.
Pilon says she is worried about Quebec’s immigration minister’s comments about the announcement.
Fréchette says Miller’s directives tread on Quebec’s jurisdiction and are unacceptable.
Fréchette told Radio Canada that in the face of Ottawa’s decision, Quebec will select fewer people to immigrate to Quebec in the next few months to re-establish a balance.
“There is a great deal of concern, especially the people who are very, very early in the process, who haven’t even had a chance to apply for it yet,” Pilon said.
To complicate matters, the Parti Québécois (PQ) is calling for a referendum on the matter.
“There should be a referendum on getting all the powers on immigration,” PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said.
Sources tell Global News Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier François Legault are set to discuss the immigration file in a meeting scheduled for March 15.
Meanwhile, families say they’re caught in political infighting when what they need is answers and their loved ones.