Starting on January 1, 2020, new immigrants to Quebec will be required to pass a so-called “values test” before they are allowed to settle in the province.
The test will cover so-called “democratic values and Quebec values,” which are expressed in the province’s Charter of Human Rights And Freedoms.
Speaking with reporters, Premier François Legault cited gender equality and the recent ban on religious signs at the workplace as values he expects newcomers to be familiar with.
The CBC recently published a selection of sample questions:
1. In Quebec, women and men have the same rights and this is inscribed in law.
- True
- False
2. Choose one or more drawings that indicate who is allowed to marry in Quebec.
The document describes illustrations of:
- Two men
- Two women and one man
- Two women
- A man and a woman
- Two men and one woman
3. What is the official language of Quebec?
- French
- Spanish
- English
- French and English
4. Since March 29, 2019, by virtue of the law respecting the laicity of the state, all new police officers may not wear religious symbols.
- True
- False
5. Identify which situations involve discrimination. A job is refused:
- To a woman who is pregnant
- To a person lacking the required diploma
- To a person because of their ethnic background
Pretty standard stuff. The test will consist of 20 questions chosen randomly from a bank of 200 questions. Applicants will need to answer 75% of the questions correctly to pass. It is essentially the same content and procedure as the Canadian citizenship test with the exception being Quebec’s incessant need to remind of its distinct secular society (Legault’s words, not mine).
Quebec intends to welcome 43,000 immigrants next year.