Newcomers from Haiti prefer Montreal
In a “dog bites man” type story, it seems newcomers mostly prefer Montreal to Quebec City. Although the headline mentions immigrants, the story is more specifically about asylum seekers from Haiti who prefer Montreal because there’s a community here with organized services and immigration lawyers – a sensible choice.
EmilyG 10:53 on 2019-01-06 Permalink
There is a sizeable Haitian community here. And worth noting that at the Emploi-QC office in Parc-Ex, there are signs not only in English and French, but Haitian Creole as well.
Kate 10:56 on 2019-01-06 Permalink
Exactly. If you were coming to Canada under some kind of duress experienced in Haiti and needed a place to settle, you’d pick Montreal for exactly this. It’s no surprise people choose a bigger town where there’s already community. (And I bet it’s not easy finding griot or cabrit in Quebec City, either.)
Ephraim 16:23 on 2019-01-06 Permalink
Yes, but the jobs that need to be filled are mostly in the outlying regions. Which means that these communities need to step up and find a way to make these people feel welcome, if they want to survive.
dhomas 19:08 on 2019-01-06 Permalink
I never understood this theory that immigrants need to be sent to the regions. If I lost my job tomorrow, I wouldn’t go looking for work in the regions. Why should immigrants be asked to work in the regions if they want to stay in the city?
Ephraim 10:44 on 2019-01-07 Permalink
dhomas, the opposite…. the regions need them and need to entice them to move there. The cities have support systems because of the amount of immigrants, the regions need to set them up, if they want people to move there. There is no way to “force” people to move anywhere. But setting up a sort of neighbourhood adoption system works. They need people to talk to, to take them to the supermarket and explain things, etc. Without this framework, even if you get them to the regions to live, they will move away.
I’ve seen systems like this that work, with older families adopting new immigrants, others coming to help them practice the language and help with navigating the systems, like opening a bank account, learning to shop, etc.
Kevin 10:55 on 2019-01-07 Permalink
@dhomas
Quebec’s system for medical work permits is based on the idea of sending highly-trained people to the regions or forcing them to take pay cuts.