If you or someone in the room could pass on my questions to the appropriate people, that would be appreciated.
How do you intend to work with the Government of Quebec to ensure that the certifications it issues are recognized in the same way as your “Red Seal” certification?
One issue that is very sensitive in our region, as in many other regions of Quebec, is the issue of labour in relation to temporary foreign workers.
Measures are required, such as labour market impact assessments, or LMIAs. Since you're responsible for intergovernmental relations, you are no doubt aware that the Government of Quebec is already conducting this assessment to identify labour market issues, significant gaps and areas where gaps must be filled by using temporary foreign workers. In this context, LMIAs are a federal government requirement that only makes the process more cumbersome.
I put myself in the shoes of a small or medium-sized business, or SME, that wants to continue to be productive, but has to wait three to six months before getting the LMIA and completing the entire administrative process that makes it possible to create just one job. Particularly in a region like Abitibi-Témiscamingue, it is possible to prove very quickly that there is no good Canadian who wants to go and work for a given company in a given circumstance. That's why people turn to immigration. However, the process is very cumbersome.
As the person responsible for intergovernmental relations, do you acknowledge that Quebec already assesses the labour market needs of labour market partners and that this assessment could be sufficient rather than forcing a cumbersome administrative process that takes time away from public servants and undermines business productivity?
By suspending LMIA authorizations for a few years, could the productivity of businesses be improved?
Are you aware of this problem?