Quebec rolls back changes to Quebec Experience Program 

Following some controversy over the changes made to the Quebec Experience Program, the Government of Quebec had to suspend the changes to the program that were made on November 1. These changes could have impacted work permits for international students. As of November 14, the original program is back in effect as it was before November 1. 

The Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) is an immigration program for eligible temporary skilled foreign workers in the province and international graduates from Quebec post-secondary schools. It allows eligible candidates to apply for CSQ, the permanent selection certificate. . However, the new rules that were implemented on November 1 would have restricted eligible applicants to only workers from an eligible in-demand occupation and students with select training in an eligible field. These new changes would have disqualified many of the program’s current applicants. 

The changes to the PEQ were suspended due to outcry from candidates, as well as from their schools and employers. The changes in effect could have restricted many international students to get the Post Graduate work permits. 

A similar event happened in February, where the Government had to retract changes made to another immigration policy. The CAQ planned to immediately cancel 18,000 of the Quebec Skilled Worker Program’s pending applications. However, a court injunction made it so the government needed to continue processing all the application until the legislation was properly passed as law.