Concerns Raised by Municipalities and Rights Groups Over Quebec’s Bill on Immigrant Integration

Quebec municipalities and human rights groups are expressing worries about proposed legislation that would necessitate newcomers to adhere to a set of common values.

They argue that the new bill on cultural integration could fuel anti-immigrant sentiments and impose a significant administrative burden on communities.

The legislation, introduced in January by Quebec’s right-leaning Coalition Avenir Québec government, aims to have immigrants follow shared values like gender equality, secularism, and protection of the French language. This bill is part of a series of measures to strengthen Quebec identity, following the province’s secularism law and its language law overhaul.

It serves as Quebec’s response to the Canadian model of multiculturalism that promotes cultural diversity, which the government believes undermines social cohesion in Quebec. Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge has emphasized the desire to prevent cultural “ghettos.”

Furthermore, it would permit the government to tie public funding to compliance with an upcoming integration policy. Roberge has hinted at the possibility of cutting funding for festivals that do not promote Quebec’s shared culture. This aspect of the bill has raised concerns among organizations representing Quebec municipalities, who argue that it infringes on municipal autonomy. The Union des municipalités du Québec is urging the government to eliminate this part of the legislation entirely.

Meanwhile, the Fédération québécoise des municipalités suggests limiting the funding requirement to cultural programs and those related to immigrant integration. They believe that reviewing every funding application for policy adherence would be burdensome. Pierre Châteauvert, the policy director at the federation, expressed concerns about the overwhelming laws and policies municipalities have to adhere to.

“The burden causes you to become paralyzed. You paralyze the system,” he said. “This is what we are currently experiencing.”

The federation indicates its support for the goals of the cultural integration bill but urges the government to boost spending on French-language classes for immigrants, many of which were cut last fall due to funding shortages. Critics argue that these cuts contradict Quebec’s integration objectives.

Various groups assert that the legislation extends beyond integration into a desire for assimilation. In an interview, Laurence Guénette from the Ligue des droits et libertés, a Quebec human rights organization, stated that Quebec is using the bill “to create a more homogenous culture.” She believes it will fuel fears that newcomers are jeopardizing Quebec values.

The organization recently outlined its objections to the bill in a press release signed by 95 civil society groups.

Notably, 30 academic and political figures, including former Quebec ministers, signed an open letter last month criticizing the bill for its “assimilationist tendencies.” However, Roberge refuted this notion, emphasizing that the bill encourages newcomers to contribute to Quebec culture. “We’re not asking (immigrants) to erase themselves,” he told reporters recently.

One of Guénette’s main concerns is that the bill could alter the provincial charter of rights to stipulate that individual rights must align with the province’s integration model. She worries that this could potentially infringe on other charter rights—such as freedom of religion and opinion.

The Quebec charter has undergone multiple revisions since its inception 50 years ago. Unlike the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which requires a constitutional amendment for changes, the Quebec charter can be modified like any other bill by the current government.

The current government has modified the charter twice when passing the secularism and language laws. Guénette highlighted the ease with which the charter can be altered and emphasized the need for new rules to mandate some form of “social consensus” before making changes.

Marie-Claude Girard, representing a secularism-promoting organization, stressed the importance of clarifying in the Quebec charter that “we have a different model from Canadian multiculturalism.” She pointed out that the Canadian charter prioritizes individual rights, whereas the Quebec document emphasizes “collective rights.”

Additionally, Anglophone groups have raised concerns about the integration bill, suggesting that it restricts the definition of Quebec culture and heritage solely to the French language. The Quebec Community Groups Network expressed feeling marginalized in history in a recent statement to the committee.

Hearings on the bill will resume on March 18, when the provincial legislature reconvenes after a two-week hiatus.