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QUEBEC — Far from offering an apology, the Legault government Thursday dug in its heels, accusing the province’s highly respected ombudsman of not understanding Quebec’s immigration system.

And it said if anyone should be apologizing for the immigration application file debacle dogging the regime, it’s the previous Liberal government — not this one.

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“I apologize for the too-long waiting times of the Liberal government,” Premier François Legault told reporters Thursday when asked if Quebec has plans to make amends with immigration candidates who have been told they need to re-apply after years of waiting.

One day after a blistering report from the province’s ombudsman said the government showed a lack of empathy in announcing plans to shred 18,000 old application files and should apologize to candidates, in writing, Legault was not budging.

The message was the same from Immigration, Diversity and Inclusiveness Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, who is steering the reforms included in Bill 9 through the legislature.