Many of these former students, who are from India and the Philippines, were forced to quit their occupations when their work permits ran out, even though there was no assurance, they would be granted permanent residence.
source: The Hindu
Some international students claim that the Canadian government uses them as a cheap workforce and then discards them when they are no longer required.50,000 international students were permitted to stay in Canada last year, for 18 months after graduating.
Therefore, to look for work at a time when businesses were in need of staff and the economy was recovering from Covid shutdowns.
In order to “assist more graduates fill pressing demands” in important industries and give them the opportunity to earn the work experience necessary for permanent immigration, the government promoted the permission extension.
However, some of these applicants for permanent residents were still without legal authorization to work or live in the nation a year and a half later.
Daniel D’Souza, an accountant and former Seneca College student near Toronto, said in an interview: “I’m basically sitting at home and living off of my money and not knowing how long I’d have to do that.” “I regret deciding to immigrate to, study in, and live in Canada. Instead than just employing international students as cheap labour, Canada ought to value them more”, she added.
The office of Immigration Minister Sean Fraser stated that it is looking into measures to better assist people who desire to live in the nation permanently.
According to spokesperson Jeffrey MacDonald in an email, the government “recognises the great social, cultural, and economic benefits” that international students provide. Like many other 2021 graduates, Mr D’Souza’s career has been put on hold, and his future is unknown.
Many of these former students, who are from India and the Philippines, were forced to quit their occupations when their work permits ran out even though there was no assurance they would be granted permanent residence.
Even if their applications are ultimately accepted, they will have to wait months without a job, income, or social or health benefits.”They took advantage of us when they needed us.
But nobody comes up when we need their assistance or support “explained Anshdeep Bindra, a former consultant at the Toronto office of Ernst & Young. “We pay taxes and fees but receive nothing in exchange.
You are unaware that we were the ones who assisted you in finding a solution to the labour shortage,” he added.
New Targets
Updated targets are expected to be unveiled by Prime Minister Trudeau’s administration on Tuesday morning, in Toronto. The government is aiming to bring in a record number of new immigrants over the next three years to help offset an ageing labour force.
According to Mr. MacDonald, those who are helped by these public measures have an equal or, in many circumstances, better potential to gain professional experience than graduates did, before the pandemic.
The international grads hoped the permission extension would allow them more time to gather Canadian work experience and raise their rankings in the nation’s skilled worker immigration rating system.
But, because of the backlog of applications, the system had to be shut down for ten months so that the government could process the applications for these graduates.
After the system was reopened, the students had to compete with pools of immigrants who scored significantly better than average, which decreased their prospects of being granted permanent status. The temporary break, according to the immigration department, allowed the system to catch up.
“Reducing or pausing invitations to apply to manage growing inventories is precisely part of what the system was designed to do,” the department said. According to the government, a record-breaking close to 40% of all new permanent residents received in 2021 were former international students.
The ministry reported that 26,250 invitations to apply for permanent residency have been sent out since July of this year, 10,212 of which were to foreign graduates or students. But, those who are still waiting and their previous employers find little solace in that.
Leoville Dustin, a real estate agent in Caledonia, Ontario, said, “Now the company will have to recruit another individual to replace me when I’m already here. “They seem to only want us to work here so they can collect our taxes and get rid of us,” he said.
According to the government, international students not only give more than C$21 billion ($15.3 billion) yearly to the economy but tens of thousands of graduates who choose to immigrate permanently also serve as a source of young, educated workers each year.
In a paper released last month, economists at the Royal Bank of Canada stated that they can be crucial in resolving both the current labour shortage and upcoming labour market needs.
According to Amira Ali, a leading expert for a Calgary property management company, the government has to “prioritise people who paid for college here, have experience here, and are connected with employers here”. They are putting us in a difficult situation and giving us no options, he added.
