18,000 applications to be shredded as Quebec approves controversial immigration law
- Legislation is similar to US plan proposed by Trump, and places emphasis on migrants’ skills
- Those with applications on file must now reapply, affecting up to 50,000 people, many of whom already live in the Canadian province
The Quebec provincial legislature on Sunday approved a controversial immigration bill that will replace a first-come, first-served standard for accepting migrants with one tied to an applicant’s skills.
The law is similar to a proposed plan from US President Donald Trump that would shift his country’s visa system from family-based immigration towards bringing in more skilled workers.
The law will attempt to more closely match the skills offered by would-be immigrants with the needs of the labour market in Quebec, Canada’s second most-populous province.
Under the new law, some 18,000 applications now on file will be shredded, affecting as many as 50,000 people, many of whom already live in the province.
The 18,000 spurned applicants will have to restart the immigration process.
The provincial government promised to expedite processing of their new applications, saying qualified workers would have answers within six months rather than the current 36 months.
