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By Jocelyne Richer, The Canadian Press

QUEBEC - Quebec is preparing for a major reform of its immigration policy, with proposed changes partly inspired by Ottawa, says the province's immigration minister.

The time has come for Quebec to re-examine its immigration model, and the way the province chooses, welcomes and integrates foreigners into the job market, said Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil ahead of year-long public consultations on the issue set to begin Wednesday at the Quebec legislature.

Weil told The Canadian Press she was ready to launch a "big reform" of relations between new immigrants and Quebec society at-large by the end of the year, a process that will include the revision of Quebec's immigration law.

Everything will be on the table: the number of immigrants welcomed annually, the selection process and favoured countries of origin, the importance of knowing French before arriving, French language courses, the recognition of training undertaken abroad, regionalization, and the sharing of common values.

The minister said she wanted a wide-reaching debate on the issues, and was "very open to everything that will be proposed."

Fifty stakeholders are expected to participate in public consultation hearings over the next few weeks on the future of immigration to Quebec. The province's current policy has been in place for 25 years.

A later consultation will also be held on two specific aspects of immigration: the number of immigrants Quebec wants to welcome every year and their countries of origin.

The emphasis, however, will be placed on the economy and balancing between the recruitment of new immigrants and workforce needs. Finding candidates that can fill empty jobs will be key, and on that point, Quebec is being inspired by Ottawa.

Last year, the federal government reformed its selection process for new immigrants. With the focus now primarily on filling jobs, every candidate for immigration to Canada must produce a "declaration of interest" showcasing his or her ability to meet employers' needs.

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Quebec considers major immigration reform

By Staff The Canadian Press

The time has come for Quebec to re-examine its immigration model, and the way the province chooses, welcomes and integrates foreigners into the job market, said Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil ahead of year-long public consultations on the issue set to begin Wednesday at the Quebec legislature.

QUEBEC Quebec is preparing for a major reform of its immigration policy, with proposed changes partly inspired by Ottawa, says the provinces immigration minister.

The time has come for Quebec to re-examine its immigration model, and the way the province chooses, welcomes and integrates foreigners into the job market, said Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil ahead of year-long public consultations on the issue set to begin Wednesday at the Quebec legislature.

Weil told The Canadian Press she was ready to launch a big reform of relations between new immigrants and Quebec society at-large by the end of the year, a process that will include the revision of Quebecs immigration law.

Everything will be on the table: the number of immigrants welcomed annually, the selection process and favoured countries of origin, the importance of knowing French before arriving, French language courses, the recognition of training undertaken abroad, regionalization, and the sharing of common values.

The minister said she wanted a wide-reaching debate on the issues, and was very open to everything that will be proposed.

READ MORE:Federal languages commissioner wants Quebec to help Anglos

Fifty stakeholders are expected to participate in public consultation hearings over the next few weeks on the future of immigration to Quebec.

The provinces current policy has been in place for 25 years.

More here:
Quebec prepares for major immigration reform

Story highlights President Barack Obama didn't mention or comparatively downplayed a number of key issues in his State of the Union He mostly avoided ObamaCare and immigration reform, despite acting on those issues during his time in office He also ignored gun control and campaign finance reform, two of progressives' pet priorities

In the 70-minute-long address, the President gave only lip service to immigration reform. He made no remarks on protecting Social Security and Medicare just as Republicans have hinted at a coming battle over welfare reform and only passing reference to the crowning achievement of his first term, Obamacare, just as it's beginning to bear fruit for many Americans. And he didn't mention the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline by name, which Republicans favor as a job-creation opportunity but the White House has said Obama would veto.

READ: Obama: 'Tonight, we turn the page'

The speech was overall a rallying cry to progressives, a promise that he'll put up a fight for their priorities now that he's freed from the bounds of another reelection fight. It drew widespread praise from congressional Democrats, and near-uniform dismissal from Republicans.

But the omissions were a reminder that, though the President's popularity is on an upswing, his legacy remains unclear and his final two years in office will still be full of challenges.

The immigration reform snub was perhaps his most glaring hole. Obama only warned against "refighting past battles on immigration when we've got a system to fix," and called for empathy towards immigrants.

"Yes, passions still fly on immigration, but surely we can all see something of ourselves in the striving young student, and agree that no one benefits when a hardworking mom is taken from her child, and that it's possible to shape a law that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants," he said during Tuesday night's speech.

That's in contrast to his 2013 State of the Union speech, when he called for Congress to pass a comprehensive reform bill and declared: "Let's get this done."

Even last year he demanded, "let's get immigration reform done this year."

On this issue, however, Obama may be feeling less urgency because he's already done some of the work on his own, with his executive action delaying deportations for millions of immigrant families last year. But the omission underscores what a prickly subject it remains politically, one that's already the center of another spending fight on Capitol Hill that will come to a head next month.

Read more from the original source:
What Obama didn't say in his address

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Immigration reform sees strong Dem backing / Joaquin Castro, State of the Union address
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