Kathleen Weil the Quebec immigration minister provided the structure of a new immigration policy expected attracting immigrants who can succeed in the provincial labour market.
She stated that this new plan, called 'Together, We Are Québec" (or Ensemble, nous sommes le Québec), will take into account changing labour trends and streamline the immigration process. The new policy is accompanied by a five-year action strategy from 2016-2021.
Another key aim of the plan is to retain immigrants who are in Québec on temporary visas as students or temporary workers.
Weil noted that the current immigration system, is facing a long processing time therefore ,by the time [immigrants] get here, the labour market has changed.
Together, We Are Québec project : An Expression of Interest Immigration System
The new plan is, in many ways, is similar to the Federal Express Entry program Under the new system, candidates interested to immigrate as skilled workers must "declare their interest" by completing an online profile, and enter into a data bank of candidates for a predetermined period.
Applicants who meet Québec's needs will be invited to submit a formal immigration application on a priority basis. All predetermined period, candidates who have not been invited to apply will be removed from the bank.
According to the minister Professional in high-demand will be targeted for immigration first . It is important to mention that the minister still does not have a clear answer on how highly-trained workers like doctors and engineers can get their qualification recognized.
She added since learning French is seen as integral to having the program work. thus "We need to be more flexible to open more French courses.
New immigration plan objectives: • Maximize economic participation by prioritizing candidates whose profiles meet labour market needs with French language knowledge ; • Reduce processing time • Introduce a flexible and dynamic system for selection criteria, invitation frequency, and the number of candidates; and • Allow Québec to remain competitive with other countries in addition to be simple, fast, and efficient.
Québec is facing considerable demographic change, including a slow population growth, a decline in the working-age population, and an aging population. Without productivity gains, these changes will have serious outcome on Québec's prosperity. Action must be taken now in order to mitigate their impact.
It is not yet known when the new system will be operational.
In the meantime
The Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP), Québec's flagship immigration program, is scheduled to have two more application intake periods based on the existing first-come, first-served model (i.e. not based on the Expression of Interest method outlined above).
• Up to 5,000 applications will be accepted during the period June 13 to June 20, 2016. This intake period will be restricted to the approximately 41,000 candidates who had created a Mon projet Québec account in January. Mon projet Québec is not scheduled to open for new registrations before the June intake period. • When this number is reached, applicants who do not have an account may create one with a view to the next intake period. During this second period, the dates of which will be established later, the Ministère will also receive 5,000 applications.
The announcement that up to 5,000 applications will be accepted in June, and another 5,000 at a later date, is likely to be well received by candidates who have created an account in Mon projet Québec, as the previous scheduled quota was set at 2,800 applications to be accepted.
