Quebec Employment Minister Plans to Fill Health-Care Vacancies with Asylum Seekers

Quebec Employment Minister Plans to Fill Health-Care Vacancies with Asylum Seekers
Quebec Minister of Employment Kateri Champagne Jourdain responds to the Opposition, at the legislature in Quebec City, on Dec. 2, 2022. The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot
The Canadian Press
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Quebec’s employment minister says around 1,500 asylum seekers will be given jobs in the province’s health-care system over the next three years.

Kateri Champagne Jourdain announced the pilot project in Montreal on Dec. 4.

The program will work with two community organizations, one in Montreal and one in Quebec City, to place people.

The government says it’s looking to fill positions such as patient-care aides, kitchen and maintenance staff, and administrators.

To be eligible, candidates must hold a valid work permit and have an intermediate level of French.

Ms. Champagne Jourdain says 1,098 would-be refugees have expressed interest in working in the tourism sector, following the launch in May of a similar program connecting asylum seekers with jobs.