Quebec's Coalition Avenir Quebec government has set its sights on a new target for "francisation:" temporary foreign workers.

Last week, the government announced that non-agricultural workers under the temporary foreign worker program (TFWP) will have to take an oral French test if they wish to remain in the province for over three years. It came alongside an announcement of immigration targets of 50,000 people per year for the next two years.

"French remains the key to successful integration," explained Minister of the French Language Jean-François Roberge.

The news came as a surprise for the Immigrant Workers Centre's (IWC) Cheolki Yoon, who says that wasn't how the government's consultation process was framed.

"For non-francophone workers, migrant workers, it's a disaster."

Yoon says the increase in temporary foreign workers has been "far more important in Quebec... almost triple the average in Canada," but less than two percent of these workers have obtained permanent residency from 2015-2022.

That fact, combined with the difficulties learning French for workers putting in long hours in isolated settings, means there's little to no interest in actually learning the language, says Yoon.

"Without ensuring the conditions (for success), it'll just be a tool for excluding the majority of temporary foreign workers."

Listen to the interview here: