Ex-co-ordinator allegedly issued 100-plus false Quebec selection certificates; minister vows review
A former Quebec civil servant faces criminal charges for allegedly issuing more than 100 false immigration selection certificates between 2016 and 2019 – raising questions for HR leaders who hired international graduates and temporary foreign workers through the province’s Quebec Experience Program during those years.
Marilena Ida, a former employee of Quebec’s Ministère de l’Immigration et de l’Intégration (MII), has been charged with breach of trust and making false documents.
The charges were announced on Nov. 4, 2026 by the Commissaire à la lutte contre la corruption (CLCC). The Hub describes the CLCC as the investigative arm of the Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC), Quebec’s anti-corruption unit.
According to the CLCC, Ida was interim co-ordinator of the Quebec Experience Program (Programme de l’expérience québécoise, or PEQ) when she allegedly issued the false Quebec selection certificates (certificats de sélection du Québec, or CSQ).
The CLCC says the certificates went to candidates who did not meet eligibility criteria. The conduct allegedly occurred between Aug. 22, 2016 and Feb. 3, 2019.
Ida is scheduled to appear in a Montreal court on Dec. 10, 2026. The allegations have not been proven.
What Quebec selection certificates do
According to the CLCC, the CSQ confirms that Quebec has selected a person to settle in the province with a view to permanent residence.
The certificate covers only the provincial step. Holders must then apply to Ottawa, which decides whether to grant permanent residence, the Journal de Sherbrooke reported.
That two-stage process leaves key questions open. The Journal de Sherbrooke noted that the CLCC has not said how many certificates were used in federal applications. Nor has it said whether any holders became permanent residents or whether money changed hands.
Minister calls integrity of the process non-negotiable
Catherine Gentilcore, Quebec’s Minister of Immigration and Integration and deputy premier, responded in a French-language statement distributed through CNW on Nov. 7, 2026.
“Immigrating to Quebec is a privilege that cannot be bought,” Gentilcore said, as translated by The Hub. The Canadian Press (CP) reported that she was “deeply shocked” by the revelations. According to CP, she also said the “necessary measures have been put in place” to ensure the cases remain an isolated incident.
“This situation shakes my confidence, and I expect the full truth to come out,” she added (translated from French by Canadian HR Reporter).
Her office said Ida has not worked for the ministry since 2019 and that the department has since strengthened its controls.
Quebec employer hiring foreign talent
The case adds to an unsettled picture for Quebec employers. Many relied on the PEQ to retain foreign talent, even after the province boosted French-language requirements for immigrants under the PEQ. The program’s wind-down was the subject of an HRD Canada report on how Quebec phases out its fast-track immigration route.
Canadian HR Reporter has also covered how a possible lawsuit over Quebec’s immigration overhaul added further uncertainty for employers.
There is precedent for certificates being withdrawn after they were issued. In 2017, Global News reported that the ministry had reversed the certificates of several hundred students over French proficiency. The report cited Montreal immigration lawyer David Chalk.
What happens next?
The case returns to court in Montreal on Dec. 10, 2026.
Neither the CLCC nor the ministry has said whether certificate holders will be contacted.
The ministry has also not detailed the control changes it says it made after 2019.
