The Canada-Québec Accord Made Easy
Federal-Provincial Relations
Renée Joyal
November 2, 1994
I. Basic information
Name: Canada-Québec Accord Relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens
Date: February 5, 1991
Signatories: Ministre des Communautés culturelles et de l’immigration
(then Mrs. Monique Gagnon-Tremblay)
Ministre de la justice et ministre délégué aux affaires Intergouvernementales canadiennes
(then Gil Remillard)
Minister of Employment and Immigration
(then the Honourable Barbara McDougall)
Hence the name “the Gagnon-Tremblay|McDougall Accord” sometimes used.
II. Québec’s 20 years in immigration
- 1968 – Québec established its own department of immigration
- 1971 – the first Canada-Québec immigration agreement was signed (Lang/Cloutier): allowed Québec to have representatives in Canadian embassies and to do counselling abroad
- 1975 – the Andras/Bienvenue agreement gave Québec a part in the selection process: allowed Québec to do interviews and to make recommendations to visa officers
- 1978 – the Cullen/Couture agreement gave Québec a say in the selection of immigrants abroad: allowed Québec to define its own selection criteria
- 1991 – accord builds on this mutual commitment – the first agreement to give Québec selection powers in Canada
III. Structure of the Accord
- The Accord Proper
- Annex A – Modalities
- Describes the Joint Committees
- Annex B – Compensation
- Annex C – Québec’s Agents Abroad
- Annex D – Investor Immigrants Program
- Letter of Understanding & Annex
- Dealt With the Transition Period
IV. The Accord proper
The Preamble
- Recognizes the distinct identity of Québec
- Takes into account the federal and bilingual character of Canada
- Highlights the reunification of families and responsibilities with respect to humanitarian considerations
- Guarantees mobility rights and equality, under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Main Headings
- Admission and Selection
- Reception and Integration
- Levels of Immigration to Québec
- General
Admission and Selection
- Application for permanent residence shall ordinarily be submitted and considered outside the country (article 9)
- Canada decides which persons may have their application considered in Canada (article 10) – Québec generally has the same selection powers in Canada and abroad (article 11)
- Canada defines immigration categories (who is eligible and who is not), and establishes selection criteria for family (preamble and article 13)
- Canada determines whether an immigrant belongs in the family class and who is a refugee or a person in similar situation (articles 13 and 17)
- Québec selects refugees from abroad and independent immigrants (articles 12 to 21) but not refugees so found in Canada (article 20)
- Canada admits immigrants who meet Québec’s selection criteria unless they are inadmissible (article 12)
Reception and Integration
- Québec provides reception and integration services (article 24)
- Canada withdraws from the services to be provided byQuébec (articles 24 and 25)
- Canada provides reasonable compensation (article 26 & Annex B)
- Canada remains responsible for citizenship and multiculturalism services (articles 28 and 29)
Levels of Immigration
- Canada establishes the total for the country (article 5)
- Québec provides advice on the number it wishes to receive (article 5)
- Both undertake to pursue a policy that will allow Quebec to receive a percentage of the total equal to the percentage of Quebec’s population compared with the population of Canada (articles 6 and 7)
- Québec undertakes to receive a percentage of refugees and persons in similar situation at least equal to the percentage of immigrants it accepts (article 8)
General
- Mutual consultation before amending statutes and regulations (article 31)
- Accord may be re-opened with prior notice of 6 months (article 33)
- Failing agreement, the Accord continues into force
V. The annexes
Annex A
- The Joint Committee
- The Implementation Committee
- Operation of the Accord
Annex B – The Compensation
- Lists the services from which Canada has withdrawn
- Provides fixed compensation for four years, up to 1994-95
- Describes the formula to be applied from 1995-96 and onward
- The funding is not directly linked to the number of immigrants received
Annex C – Québec’s Agents Abroad
- General provisions to ensure cooperation
- Presence of Quebec officials in Canadian missions
Annex D – Investor Immigrants Program
- Quebec to administer its own program in a manner consistent with objectives set in regulations as they were in 1990
- Both parties to harmonize their standards and practices in implementing the program
- Canada agrees to admit immigrants who meet key requirements of Quebec regulations unless admissible. disagreements to be resolved through consultations
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