The Quebec Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, deplores the “unacceptable” slowness of Immigration Canada, which chased away a teacher of French origin working in Montreal North.
“We need arms in the education network and we can only reiterate that the slow delays at Immigration Canada are unacceptable,” laments Mr. Drainville in a statement sent by his press secretary, Florence Plourde.
Friday, The duty revealed that Sarah Chauveau, who has been teaching for four months at Sainte-Gertrude primary school, will soon return to France due to excessive delays related to the arrival of her spouse in Quebec. The latter has been waiting for six months for his electronic travel authorization, a document that must be presented to board the plane and which allows landing in Canada.
A solution must be found so that Mme Chauveau continues her work as a teacher in the province, says the minister. The departure of the latter in the middle of the school year saddens her colleagues, her students and their parents.
In Quebec, the opposition parties are indignant in unison at this situation.
The interim leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec, Marc Tanguay, deplores the departure of a person who was “a plus” for Quebec society caused by Ottawa’s laxity.
“The federal government needs to improve its processes, because stories like that, we can’t afford to have them happen again,” he said. Especially since a labor shortage is rife in Quebec’s public services, adds Mr. Tanguay.
For his part, the solidarity deputy Andrés Fontecilla maintains that these deadlines “must be shortened as much as possible”. The school network needs people like Sarah Chauveau, who came to lend a hand, he argues.
According to Méganne Perry Mélançon, spokesperson for the Parti Québécois, the case of Mme Chauveau is further proof of “Ottawa’s incompetence”. “The shortage of teachers is real and we deplore these delays,” she adds.
For its part, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada declined to comment on this particular case when questioned by The duty.
With Lisa-Marie Gervais
