The CSN union and SPUQ, representing teachers at l’Université du Québec (UQAM), recently held a press conference to discuss Quebec’s elimination of the fast-track immigration stream known as the PEQ.
At the conference, speakers, including international unionized professors at UQAM, called for a grandfather clause to be implemented for individuals who held temporary immigration permits when the PEQ program was terminated.
The PEQ, a program that ended in November last year, was designed to help retain temporary foreign workers and foreign students who graduated in Quebec. Since its discontinuation, those awaiting residency under the program have been left in uncertainty.
Applicants are now being directed to apply to the Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ), which differs from the PEQ by utilizing a points-based system to evaluate candidates based on education, French-language proficiency, and work experience. The PSTQ also prioritizes applications outside of Montreal.
Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada criticized the removal of the PEQ and called for a grandfather clause, emphasizing the importance of finding pathways to residency for temporary workers affected by the program’s termination.
Premier François Legault, however, rejected calls for flexibility for Montreal immigrant workers. The SPUQ President, Geneviève Hervieux, argued that the government’s inflexibility was unjust and urged for immediate action to lift restrictions on work permits in Montreal and Laval regions.
The CSN President, Caroline Senneville, criticized the government’s decisions as arbitrary and appealed for a more responsible approach.
According to SPUQ, 25 teachers at UQAM, spanning various disciplines such as mathematics, education, and arts, have been directly impacted by the elimination of the PEQ, causing disruptions in teaching and research activities.
Alejandro Morales Borrero, a professor at UQAM’s Department of Mathematics, shared his concerns about the PEQ’s removal and its effects on his career and family. Having moved to Montreal with his family in 2023 after spending nine years in the US, Morales Borrero faced challenges with the frozen PEQ program last summer. Despite submitting an application to the PSTQ, set to expire next month, Morales Borrero remains hopeful about his chances to stay in Quebec.
Despite the uncertainties, Morales Borrero and his family, including his trilingual daughter, plan to stay in Montreal while awaiting a response from the PSTQ.
