A news release from the province’s ministry of labor said the funding would support nearly 2,000 Quebec businesses in their efforts towards international recruitment.
The remaining $33.9 million will go to two programs that are aimed towards helping temporary foreign workers integrate into Quebec’s labor market. These programs are Programme d’aide à l’intégration des immigrants et des minorités visibles (PRIIME) and the Programme d’intégration en emploi de personnes formées à l’étranger référées par un ordre Professionnel (IPOP).
“The recruitment of temporary foreign workers is an option that more and more businesses are turning to in their efforts to tackle the issue of labor shortages,” Boulet said in a statement.
The labor minister said that there were also some new measures his ministry put in place. These measures would help ensure that the assimilation of temporary foreign workers into Quebec’s labor market would be both “positive and durable.”
Quebec’s CAQ government has come under fire from business groups in the province for lowering the rate of immigration despite the increasing labor crisis.
In a brief filed with the government earlier this month, the province’s chambers of commerce federation said Quebec requires an estimated 60,000 immigrants per year. This number represents 20,000 more immigrants than the government plans on accepting in 2019. Such a high number is necessary to lower the labor shortages being experienced and stimulate the growth of the region’s economy.
However, other parties have said that turning to temporary foreign workers to fill the gaps in the labor force is not the most practical long-term solution. This measure is non-viable because Quebec’s population is aging, and its labor pool is also shrinking year by year.
The CAQ government says the immigration policies it has put in place will make correctly integrate the immigrants. The policy also makes sure that all immigrants fortunate enough to get admitted into Quebec meet the current labor needs in the province.
