Recently, due to changes in the provincial nominee immigration policy, there have been street protests by international students in many Canadian provinces. Most people say that it is too difficult to migrate now and that the future is uncertain......
In the past two days, another province in Canada has taken to the streets to protest due to a sudden change in immigration policy, and it will escalate into a "hunger strike", and the matter is getting bigger and bigger!
Source: Express
The protest, which took place in front of a government building in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI), has been going on for nearly a week.
Source: X
The protest on the sidewalk near the provincial government building in PEI began on May 9 with about 25 people holding signs in protest. On Monday, the number of protesters increased to more than 300. Many drivers passing by have been honking their horns to show their support, and many employers have shown their support because their business has been affected.
Source: X
One of the participants said the protesters were prepared to go on a hunger strike if the provincial government did not reverse some recent changes to the prioritization of specific groups of people under the provincial nominee program.
Source: X
Rupinder Pal Singh, an international student who came to Canada from India in 2019, said they asked the province to meet their requirements by May 16, which included extending work permits for people who were already working here and wanted to obtain permanent residency.
Source: X
"The provincial government has given us false hope! They have given us the wrong information, which is total exploitation. Singh said.
Source: X
These prospective international students are protesting against changes to PEI's immigration process and have decided to do so on a daily basis.
Source: X
Source: X
"If our demands are not met by May 16, then this protest will escalate to a 'hunger strike to death.'"
Source: X
Source: X
"We're about to lose our work visas, and we don't have anywhere else to go." Singh said.
PUI Provincial Nominee (PNP) Policy Changes:
Hundreds of people have been "one size fits all" on the road to immigration!
In February, the PEI government announced that it would reduce the number of foreign nationals who have been granted permanent residency in Canada through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). By 2024, the number of nominees will be reduced by 25%, in part due to pressures on the province's healthcare system and real estate market.
The province's new rule is to give preference to people in specific occupations such as health care and construction among the remaining provincial nominations.
Source: TikTok
"This has left hundreds of foreign workers working in the retail and service industries desperate because once their work permits expire, they are unlikely to be renewed. Even switching to healthcare, childcare, and construction is useless now, as work permits in these industries are only issued to experienced people. ”
Source: TikTok
The protesters also said: "Graduate work permits in the retail and service sectors are unlikely to be extended, so they have no choice but to leave Canada." PEI has temporarily shut down retail and services to the Provincial Nominee Program and the Atlantic Immigration Program, which has sparked panic. ”
Source: X
Prince Edward Island is a sparsely populated province in Canada, which helps international students and work permit holders to obtain permanent residency (PR) after working and living here for a certain period of time.
Source: TikTok
However, the dramatic changes to the Provincial Nominee Program have come as a shock to foreign workers who wish to apply for settlement in the coming months. Protesters argue that for most people, it is almost impossible to get immigrants.
The province said the changes to the immigration system were only temporary, but did not give a specific timeline.
Ontario's 29-year-old international student complains in tears: the future is uncertain!
Hundreds of thousands of international students may be forced to return to China!
I have to say that it is really difficult to get permanent residence status in Canada now......
Kanika Maheshwari, a 29-year-old student from India, came to Brampton, Ontario, Canada in 2020 to study business management. Her dream is to open a jewelry store one day.
After graduating, she worked as a sales executive in a logistics company. She and her husband, who works in trade, start a family in Canada and live a peaceful life, both saving money for her jewelry store.
But Maheshwari says her dream now faces a risk. Because her work permit is due to expire in August, although she has already applied for permanent residence, she has not received an invitation due to the high score of the Integrated Points System (CRS) in the immigration lane.
Source: X@CBCbrief
Maheshwari's mother passed away two years ago, and the financial burden of the family fell on her at once. Her husband has a spouse visa, which means that if she leaves, her husband must also return to India.
"I couldn't sleep all night because of anxiety, it was as if I had fallen into a huge hell." Now that her visa expires with only three months to go, she said, it's not realistic to learn French or change careers.
"If I had to go back, everything I did in four years – including my career, a lot of money spent. It will all be a waste, everything is lost! Maheshwari said.
He is concerned that this will cause hundreds of thousands of international students and foreign workers to leave Canada.
Canada received a record 430,000 applications for permanent residency in 2022.
Since Immigration Secretary Marc Miller took office last July, there has been a series of changes in immigration policy. One of them is to maintain the new permanent resident number target at nearly 500,000 by 2026.
Of these, there are six priority categories to fill the labor shortage: STEM, agriculture, health care, transportation, trade, and French.
Source: CTV News
However, the situation of international students enrolled in Canada does not match the country's labor shortage.
Between 2018 and 2023, Canada enrolled nearly 800,000 business students, with only 113,000 in healthcare and 36,000 in trade, according to an analysis of federal data.
"For those who have spent five or six years in Canada, they are now being told that they have to go back to their hometown and start over. Canada is closing its doors to them. It's a dilemma. ”