A number of protesting college students have already seen their work permits expire, whereas others are anticipated to lose theirs by the top of the 12 months.
The protests started within the final week of August in Brampton, Ontario, and have since unfold to different provinces, together with Prince Edward Island and Manitoba.
In gentle of a housing disaster and rising considerations over inflation, the Canadian authorities launched a cap on worldwide pupil consumption in January and additional tightened it in September.
Moreover, in December 2023, the federal government introduced that college students with PGWPs expiring after December 31, 2023, wouldn’t be eligible for extensions.
“The protests have been occurring for the final couple of months, led by numerous help organisations in Canada, mentioned Bikram Gill, a former worldwide pupil in Brampton.
“We’re protesting on behalf of everybody as a result of we wish honest pathways to everlasting residency and PGWPs.”
The PIE Information spoke to a different former worldwide pupil, Mehakdeep Singh, whose PGWP expires in three months, said he was set to obtain his PR by April 2024, however the delays foiled his plans.
“The protests have been occurring for the final couple of months, led by numerous help organisations in Canada
Bikram Gill, former worldwide pupil
In line with Gill, the necessity for PGWP extensions arose when the Canadian authorities’s bi-weekly categorical entry draw system for PR and the provincial nominee program in numerous provinces got here to a standstill throughout Covid.
“As a result of there have been no new attracts throughout Covid, the Canadian authorities supplied us with an 18-month PGWP extension, however our PR course of was delayed.”
Singh advised The PIE that regardless of doing “every thing by the e-book”, many like him couldn’t navigate Canada’s altering insurance policies.
“Covid was a serious disruptor which Canada just isn’t contemplating. Once I received my PGWP, I began working as a safety supervisor however received laid off in the course of the pandemic and couldn’t goal PNP,” he mentioned.
“Then I attempted to go for the CEC stream, however the Canadian authorities suspended it for nearly three years, and by the point I focused PNP once more, the federal government began prioritising healthcare and different skilled employees.”
In line with the protestors, over 60-70 people attend the protest websites day by day, with 120 protestors gathering in the course of the weekends.
Among the many college students on the Brampton protest was Arjan Singh, whose PGWP expired in August.
“The difficulty is that once we met the work expertise requirement, the federal government raised the rating for the categorical entry system, leaving us in a nasty state,” said Arjan.
He was referencing the scoring system that evaluates immigrants based mostly on their abilities, training, and different standards, which the Canadian authorities makes use of to challenge invites for PR.
Jaspreet Singh, a group advocate main the Worldwide Sikh College students Affiliation NGO in Toronto, mentioned he spoke with Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller however didn’t obtain a constructive response.
“They don’t appear concerned about our pleas, however we try our greatest. I may also meet with the Ministry of Commerce and Funding. We’re hopeful that they may give PGWP extensions to pick trades, maybe those in demand,” he advised digital media outlet The Wire.
In line with a report from the Indian Specific, there was a notable enhance within the variety of undocumented Indians shifting to the US in latest months.
This pattern contains quite a few college students who departed Canada after depleting all their authorized avenues to stay.
In line with the Indian Specific, some 5,152 undocumented Indians crossed into the US from Canada on foot in June 2024 alone.
“We would like PRs prolonged for people who will see them expire in 2024 and 2025, we wish some new pathways, we need to cease the LMIA program since employers and consultants exploit us by promoting low-cost job provides, even the federal government is conscious of that,” said Mehakdeep.
Although Indian college students make up nearly all of worldwide college students in Canada, the numbers are anticipated to drop within the coming years.
Whereas it has been reported that there might be almost a 50% drop in research permits for Canada from India in 2024, worsening diplomatic relations between the 2 nations are set to influence visa processing on a big scale.
