QC institutions say immigration rules inhibit their ability to attract international faculty

Representatives at Concordia University and McGill University say that Quebec's immigration requirements are hampering their efforts to attract top-level international talent. According to recruiters and faculty members, the province's points-based immigration rules leave them at a significant disadvantage compared to other institutions. The challenge is especially great when it comes to attracting senior faculty for research chairs, who balk at the prospect of taking French classes on top of their already considerable research duties. Moreover, the universities say that applicants are forced to deal with too much paperwork and other bureaucratic hoops. Ghyslaine McClure, Associate Provost at McGill, says that exceptions to the policies must be made: "we would like a special recognition that university professors are highly specialized workers and they should not have that many obstacles." While QC made changes in December to grant immigrants with PhDs more "points" that do allow some to bypass the French requirement, the universities say that more must be done to create pathways to permanent residency for faculty hires. Montreal Gazette