'Ballot question' is whether Quebec should cut number of immigrants, Couillard says

Taking aim at hisrival Franois Legault, Philippe Couillard said Monday that Quebec is already facing a serious labour shortage, and reducing the influx of immigrants would make the problem worse.

He saidthe "ballot question" in the Quebec election is whether it's appropriate to cutthe number of immigrants coming to the province, asLegault'sCoalitionAvenirQubechas proposed to do.

Immigration has emerged asone of the keydifferencesbetween the CouillardLiberals and the CAQahead of the Oct. 1 vote.

"With thelabour shortage that we're experiencing, is it appropriate to propose a reduction in the number of workers coming from elsewhere? That's the real question,"Couillardsaid.

The Liberal leader announced new measures Monday aimed at helping new arrivals settleoutside Montreal. He said $135 million over five years including $50 million for municipalities would be devoted to ensuring new arrivalslearn French and find jobs.

The CAQwants tocut the number of immigrants to 40,000 a year and require them topass a language and values test, while the Liberals maintain the current levels should remain in place.Last year, Quebec took in 52,388 immigrants.

Couillard made the announcement in Quebec City, whereMayor Rgis Labeaumesaid last month the province needs torelax the rules for immigrants who have jobs lined up in the province, because hisregion is struggling with a severeworkforce deficit.

Legault, for his part, says the Liberal government's policy is a "failure," and more needs to be done to ensure immigrantscanenter the job market before allowing more people in.

Responding to Couillard's comments on Monday, Legault said the Liberal leader can't decide what the "ballot question" is.

"The ballot question will be yes, about immigration, but also about [the] economy, about education, about health care," Legault told reporters.

Parti Qubcois LeaderJean-FranoisLise said last week his partywould look to limit the number of immigrants to between 35,000 and 40,000 annually.

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