Ottawa says it will bypass Quebec's immigration cap to speed up family reunification

After several months of asking the Quebec government in vain to increase its family reunification capacity, Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller says it's time for his government to pull rank.

Miller says his ministry will begin issuing permanent residence permits to those looking to unite with their loved ones in Quebec, regardless of the province's self-imposed cap on applicants, which he describes as «artificially low.»

«We're talking about people who are husbands, wives, parents, grandparents, who are waiting unsuccessfully to be reunited with their families in Quebec,» said Miller in an interview with Radio-Canada, calling the backlog a humanitarian crisis.

«For me … it's a question of social justice.»

Quebec's family reunification envelope is capped at around 10,000 applicants per year — a threshold that falls far short of the demand.

Miller said he's been «begging» Quebec Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette for months to lift the cap and allow more people to enter the province, but now, he's tired of waiting.

In a letter sent to Fréchette on Sunday and obtained by Radio-Canada, Miller said he had «a moral duty to find a solution» to Quebec's «refusal to reunite families more quickly.»

He has instructed his ministry to begin processing all applications for permanent residence from family reunification applicants who have received the proper documents from Quebec, his letter reads.

Miller said that amounts to approximately 20,500 applications, as of Jan. 31, 2024.

If the backlog continues to worsen, Miller said his ministry will continue to grant permanent residence to applicants within the usual timeframes, «even if it means exceeding the levels set by the [François] Legault government.»

Wait for family