The labor shortage must be a priority for the new provincial government, believes the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce (FCCQ), which publishes 22 recommendations for the election campaign.

With its electoral platform unveiled on Monday, the FCCQ says it wants to share “the expectations of the business community to come”.

“Our platform brings together the main national expectations expressed by our network in the 17 regions of Quebec (…). We are proposing concrete measures that political parties can take up within their platform and ultimately, during the next government term,” explained Charles Milliard, President and CEO of the FCCQ.

For the FCCQ, measures to counter the labor shortage must be the priority of political parties. She believes that the reception capacity must be increased “in order to meet the level of labor needs resulting from immigration”. She believes that Quebec can do “much better” to reduce processing times for economic immigration candidates.

“Our ability to integrate newcomers is an important issue that the government will have to address as a priority in the next mandate. On the ground, too many shortcomings are currently observed in francization, in the recognition of skills, in regionalization among others, which greatly harms integration, “said Mr. Milliard.

The FCCQ also wants the political parties to tackle the needs for rental housing, educational childcare services and regional air transport.

The platform of 22 recommendations also addresses measures to accelerate business investment in their technological transition and innovation in all regions of Quebec, particularly in the manufacturing sector.

The Federation also expects the next government to pass a bill governing the use of health data in Quebec, in the spirit of the current Bill 19. innovation and the quality of public contracts in Quebec also requires a review of the award criteria so that they no longer simply choose the tenderer on the basis of the lowest compliant price,” added Charles Milliard.