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00:00It's almost seven years since Loic Bizeul moved to Montreal to start a career as a researcher
00:17specializing in homosexuality in the Catholic Church.
00:23I've been interested in the religious history of Quebec and I'm in the process of finishing
00:27my thesis. I've submitted it. It's a really great achievement.
00:35But the 30-year-old's life in Canada now hangs in the balance. At the end of October, Quebec
00:41unceremoniously suspended the immigration program which underpins his permanent residency
00:46in the country.
00:52So here is my study visa. It's always a long and costly process.
00:58With a student loan to repay and research to keep up with, he can at least rest easy
01:03knowing he can stay in the province with a temporary visa once his degree is validated.
01:09But he still feels that, despite his best efforts, he's being kept in a precarious
01:13position by provincial authorities.
01:18My professional future is at stake, even though I've worked and done everything for
01:22it. We've constantly been told that we'd be able to stay in Quebec because they need
01:28qualified French-speaking immigrants. And now they tell us that's no longer possible.
01:36There's just a lack of understanding.
01:41The government's decision not only suspends the graduate component of the Quebec exchange
01:45program, but also the regular skilled worker program.
01:51The aim, according to the minister responsible, is to control and better anticipate the province's
01:56immigration needs.
01:58There are two objectives. To ensure that 2025 is a controlled year and that we have around
02:0664,000 people. If we hadn't taken this courageous decision, we could have come close to 70,000
02:14permanent immigrants. And that's far too many for our capacity. And secondly, this
02:20gives us the room to have a frank but also honest discussion about the 2026 plan. We
02:25need to do that.
02:29The government says the freeze on the programs in question will be in force until the end
02:32of June 2025 at the latest. But a number of student and work visas approved under these
02:39immigration schemes are set to expire in the coming weeks.
02:45When we came to Quebec, when we came to Canada, we had no idea that one day we would have
02:49to go out into the streets and ask the government to keep its promises.
02:59The association Le Quebec c'est nous aussi has launched a social media campaign accusing
03:03the authorities of having stepped up immigration efforts, particularly in French-speaking countries,
03:09only to backtrack.
03:10It's a freeze on the two biggest economic immigration programs in Quebec. At the moment,
03:18we're trying to document and show the government the impact these policies have on people already
03:23living here. Then we'll work with both the government and the opposition in preparation
03:27for the spring 2025 discussions on immigration to try and not only bring back these programs,
03:34but also ensure that people already living in Quebec can have access to permanent residency.
03:41The association's activists are hoping to attain a suspension or even a reversal of
03:46the government's decision, with the support of the parliamentary opposition, the Quebec
03:50Liberal Party.
03:54It's the perfect recipe for immigration failure in Quebec. No planning. It's a blatant lack
04:00of respect for Quebec businesses.
04:05According to immigration associations and lawyers, some who've already been impacted
04:10by the suspension of the programs have already begun moving to other Canadian provinces,
04:15where they hope to gain permanent residence by finding work.
04:20This former UN special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants says that now, students
04:25and workers who've been displaced are a useful bargaining chip during election time, when
04:30the Premier of Quebec is struggling in the polls.
04:35When it comes to human rights, immigrants should be treated equally on all rights except
04:39two. The right to enter the country and the right to vote and be elected, which are reserved
04:44for citizens. But all the others should be upheld equally. But that's not the case because
04:49they don't vote, and so politicians can completely ignore what they experience. There is no reality
04:54check. We never ask immigrants if it's working for them. We always ask the electorate if
05:00they are happy with immigrants. If they're happy, we carry on. And if they're not happy,
05:04we cut the number of immigrants. And that's a tragic lack of planning and governance.
05:12Quebec is promising a multi-year immigration plan in the coming months.
05:16Immigration, let's talk about it.
05:20On the 24th of October, Justin Trudeau's federal government also announced that it
05:25would reduce its permanent immigration intake targets by around 20 percent from next year.