MONTREAL - After asking Quebec citizens to "pay their fair share," the Charest government is now increasing the burden on new immigrants.

In Quebec's new budget, tabled by Finance Minister Raymond Bachand yesterday, the fee for new immigrants asking for a qualified worker certificate will increase by 85 per cent, from $406 to $750.

Slipped discretely into the budget, the $750 fee will now be subject to annual increases based on the rate of inflation. The fee will be charged on top of the existing $550 fee assessed by the federal government.

In documents accompanying the budget, the government explained that the higher fee will reflect "the real cost" of dealing with immigration demands and will allow for the immigration department to hire additional employees.

According to Dan Bohbot, the president of the Quebec Immigration Lawyers Association, the government is dealing with a four-year backlog of immigration requests, nearly 85,000 in all.

With files from The Canadian Press.