Quebec wants exemption from temporary foreign worker moratorium on restaurants

MONTREAL – The Quebec government is calling on Ottawa to lift the ban on restaurants hiring temporary foreign workers — at least when it comes to its own province.

The province’s immigration minister Kathleen Weil is scheduled to meet with her federal counterpart Chris Alexander on Monday.

Dave McMahon, a spokesman for Weil, says she will ask for Quebec to be granted an exemption to the moratorium.

McMahon says Quebec is worried the freeze will hurt the province’s restaurant industry, especially during the busy summer months.

He says the province hasn’t had any problems with the program.

Ottawa announced the moratorium late last month, after a string of reports alleging the program was being misused by the restaurant industry.

The decision has been widely criticized by industry groups.

Quebec’s restaurant association called it “exaggerated and unreasonable.”