Quebec鈥檚 premier wants to bring the issue of asylum seekers to the attention of his fellow provincial leaders.

Canada鈥檚 premiers are in Halifax this week for the Council of the Federation conference, where Quebec鈥檚 Fran莽ois Legault says it鈥檚 clear the current situation in his province must change.

The issue has been a long-standing one for Legault, who also addressed the matter last month during a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

鈥淲e really need to decrease the number,鈥� said Legault, noting around 190,000 asylum seekers enter Quebec per year. He added, 鈥淭he future of French on the Island of Montreal is in play.鈥�

Also on board with this issue is Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

While Alberta and Quebec share an interest in having the federal government support asylum seekers in Canada, Smith says Alberta doesn鈥檛 have Ottawa鈥檚 ear on this matter the way Quebec seemingly does.

鈥淲e鈥檇 like them to make the same commitment,鈥� she said.

A press release from the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office last month stated Trudeau and Legault discussed the issue of asylum seekers, with $750 million in federal money promised to the Quebec government for immigration-related services.

The issue of equalization is also up for discussion in Halifax before the three-day meeting ends Wednesday. That item is of particular concern for Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey.

The province has launched a court challenge to push for a change to the equalization formula, but it鈥檚 something Furey hopes won鈥檛 actually reach the court system.

鈥淲e鈥檙e firm in our proposition that the formula isn鈥檛 being equally applied and doesn鈥檛 contemplate the cost to deliver services,鈥� he said.

鈥淎s a result, it doesn鈥檛 reflect the spirit of what was signed in the Constitution.鈥�

A change was made under the Harper government which required aggregate equalization payments to grow in line with the rate of Canada鈥檚 national growth. Since that change was made just after the 2008 financial crisis, the formula has undergone some minor tweaks, but no real major reform.

READ ALSO:

READ ALSO: