Category: Canada

With 1.83 lakh Indian students pursuing education at various levels in the country, Canada is the second most popular destination for Indians pursuing academic degrees at foreign shores….reports Asian Lite News

Some Indian students in Canada are accusing the country of using them as a cheap source of labour and discarding them once they’re no longer needed, a media report said on Tuesday.

Amid labour shortage and high unemployment rate, which fell to 5.2 per cent this September, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced a new temporary measure aimed at reducing severe labour shortages in Canada, a Bloomberg report said.

According to the report, PM Justin Trudeau’s government introduced the permit extension move to over 5,00,000 international students already in Canada to potentially work more hours, and stay for 18 months after graduation to seek employment.

However, after more than a year, some of these permanent-resident hopefuls have been left without status to work or remain in the country.

“I’m basically sitting at home and living off of my savings… Canada should appreciate foreign students more, not just use them as a form of cheap labour,” Daniel D’Souza, an accountant and former student at Seneca College near Toronto, told Bloomberg.

With 1.83 lakh Indian students pursuing education at various levels in the country, Canada is the second most popular destination for Indians pursuing academic degrees at foreign shores.

Canada has processed more than 4.52 lakh study permit applications since January — a 23 percent increase compared to the 3.67 lakh processed over the same period last year, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said.

In 2021, Canada had over 6.20 lakh of which one-third were from India.

Many graduates who were part of the 2021 program, had to leave their jobs when their work permits expired with no guarantee they’ll gain permanent residency.

Even if their applications are eventually successful, students face months in limbo with no job, income, or health and social benefits, Bloomberg reported.

“When they needed us, they exploited us. But when we need their help or support, nobody shows up,” Anshdeep Bindra, a former consultant at Ernst & Young in Toronto, told Bloomberg.

Indian graduates, who hoped that the permit extension would give them more time to gain Canadian work experience, got mired in a backlog of applications that led to a 10-month shutdown of the system to allow the government to process them.

Once the system was activated, the students found themselves competing with pools of immigrants with much higher-than-normal scores, reducing their chances of gaining permanent residency, the report said.

International students contribute more than C$21 billion ($15.3 billion) annually to the Canadian economy, according to the government data.

Canada is a popular choice among students moving abroad due to its quality education, friendly visa and immigration rules, and better life prospects.

Most Indian students are interested in remaining in Canada as permanent residents after completing their studies.

According to Statistics Canada, international students who get permanent residence tend to integrate quickly into the Canadian labour market due to their previous experience of living in the country on visas.

MEA data show that in the first six months of 2022, as many as 64,667 Indians going abroad for education named the USA as their destination, followed closely by Canada (60,258).

Before the pandemic, in 2019, 1,32,620 Indian students had chosen Canada. In 2020, after Covid-19 broke out, the number dipped to 43,624, before rising sharply to 1,02,688 in 2021, according to the MEA.

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The asylum seekers enter Canada via sea, land, or air. On reaching Canada they straightway claim refugee status as they are allegedly being hounded by Indian agencies violating human rights….writes Rajinder S Taggar

Thousands of people mainly from Punjab have sought asylum in Canada citing political persecution in India because they support Khalistan.

After escaping from India, 6,537 people have applied to the Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada over the last 10 years for citizenship. More than half of the political asylum seekers are reported to be from Punjab.

Providing these figures in response to queries sent by indianarrative.com, Mylene Estrada-del Rosario, advisor to the Immigration and Refugee Board reveals that the refugee claims from India are mostly made based on India being a “persecuting country.” The second plea taken by the applicants is that their “political opinion” varies from that of the Indian state because of which they are hounded by the security agencies.

Rosario says, “each case before the Immigration and Refugee Board is decided on its own merits by independent decision-makers.” The applicant is required to furnish sufficient proof in support of his claim. The Canadian authorities on their own also keep an eye on the situation prevailing in the country to which the applicant belongs.

These asylum seekers enter Canada via sea, land, or air. On reaching Canada they straightway claim refugee status as they are allegedly being hounded by Indian agencies violating human rights.

Punjab-origin journalist J P Pandher, now based in Toronto, reveals that the Indian lawyers dealing with political asylum seekers charge a hefty fee to file such cases in courts. The Indian lawyer, once hired, ropes in the services of a White advocate who drafts and argues the case in the court. The fee alone could range between Rs 30 to 35 lakh per case.

Once an asylum seeker gets permission to temporarily stay in Canada till the court decides his fate, he is allowed to work and earn for himself. The litigation continues for several years during which the applicants keep working to pay the lawyers.

A majority of political asylum seekers prefer Montreal in the Quebec state of Canada to file their cases. There is a belief prevalent that courts in Quebec are more sympathetic towards refugee claims. It is common knowledge that the Quebec people too are wanting to accede from mainland Canada as they feel oppressed.

A Brampton-based Punjabi lawyer says on condition of anonymity that the newspaper reports and films emanating from India showing violence against a particular community are presented before the courts to convince the judges that India persecutes them based on their religion and political beliefs.

The majority of asylum seekers from Punjab claim that they are supporters of the Khalistan movement and want an independent Sikh state but the police and other agencies of the Indian government put them in jail without a just trial.

Another lawyer engaged with cases of political asylum seekers reveals that the letter of support issued by Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president and MP Simranjit Singh Mann on the party letterhead who himself is a flag bearer of Khalistan, is “procured” to bolster the refugee claim of an individual.

New Zealand-based Radio and TV host, Harnek Singh Neki maintains that Mann charges something between Rs 5 to 7 lakh for issuing a letter to support a particular refugee claim.

The Sikh extremists wanted in Punjab for themselves committing or having funded acts of violence are learnt to be holed up in various cities of Canada as refugees and controlling key Gurdwaras. Such extremists include Hardeep Singh Nijjer, Lakhbir Landa, and Arshdeep Singh Arsh.

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About 500,000 people celebrate the festival of lights in Canada, mostly Hindus, Sikhs and Jains…reports Asian Lite News

With the Canadian Municipal elections falling on October 24 — the same day as Diwali — Indian-origin community, including councillor candidates, are raising concerns over the two events overlapping.

There is no nationwide public holiday on Diwali in Canada but it is one of the most-awaited festivals celebrated by the large swathe of Indian diaspora present in the North American country.

About 500,000 people celebrate the festival of lights in Canada, mostly Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.

“A lot of people who would typically vote after work also would be participating in Diwali celebrations, which tend to be in the evening,” Ryan Singh, chair of the Indo-Caribbean Canadian Association, told CTV News Toronto.

“So people will probably prioritize being with their families and loved ones, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic rather than voting,” Singh added.

Elections for municipal government are held every four years on the fourth Monday of October, which falls on October 24 this time. These polls usually elect a mayor and city council and sometimes also a school board.

“Brampton city must take a step to consider the main festivals and events of its diverse population,” Vijay Mair, a candidate from Brampton, told Omni TV.

“It is very problematic that the elections are taking place on the Diwali day, especially the municipal election that has always seen a low voter turnout,” Gurpratap Singh Toor, councillor candidate from Brampton, said.

This is not the first time that an election day has coincided with a festival. In 2019, the federal election fell on October 21, during the Jewish holiday, Shemini Atzeret.

Mair, however, told people to vote in huge numbers as “Diwali comes every year but elections happen once in four years”.

“Since most of the Diwali celebrations happen in the evening into the night, I don’t think it will be as disruptive as to cause low voter turnout,” Param Singh, an Ottawa mayoral candidate, told Capital Current.

Diwali celebrations kicked off in Canada with the revealing of a Diwali-themed stamp earlier this month. The stamp design highlighted two traditions central to the celebration of Diwali: fireworks displays and the lighting of diyas.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau celebrated Diwali with elementary school students by making small clay diyas.

Apart from a Diwali party cruise, the Indo-Canada Arts Council is hosting musical symphony fireworks at Harbourfront in Toronto, which began on October 22.

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This is a significant increase over the 2021-2022 fiscal year and even exceeds the pre-pandemic targets of 2019-2020, when 253,000 citizenship applications were processed…reports Asian Lite News

Canada aims to grant citizenship to 300,000 people in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, a move likely to benefit many Indians.

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) memo recommends that it process a total of 285,000 decisions and 300,000 new citizens by March 31, 2023.

A decision means a review of an application which is then approved, denied, or marked as incomplete.

The citizenship target means that 300,000 approved applicants must take the oath of citizenship, which would be either in person or virtually.

IRCC also said that minors under the age of 18 will be eligible to apply for citizenship online by the end of the year.

This is a significant increase over the 2021-2022 fiscal year and even exceeds the pre-pandemic targets of 2019-2020, when 253,000 citizenship applications were processed.

In March 2020, IRCC became unable to process most applications due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was because the department was only able to process paper applications that were mailed to a central location.

IRCC was unable to conduct interviews with candidates and there could not be any oath swearing at citizenship ceremonies.

So far in the 2022-2023 fiscal, Canada has welcomed 116,000 new citizens and is on track to achieve its target. By comparison, over the same period in 2021, the country had only sworn in 35,000 people.

Though there is no country-wise break-up of the numbers, Indians are the top immigrant group to take up residence in Canada in 2022.

According to the country’s 2016 reports, Canada has some 1.4 million people of Indian descent.

In 2021, nearly 100,000 Indians moved to Canada under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and some 130,000 got work permits under the International Mobility Program.

During 2021-2022, over 210,000 permanent residents also acquired Canadian citizenship.

As per figures released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), it also issued 450,000 study permit applications. There are over 622,000 foreign students in Canada, with Indians numbering 217,410 as of December 31, 2021.

Given the fact that Canada continues to have labour shortages one can expect high levels of Indians moving to Canada to work and study over the coming years.

With a rise in the number of online applications, in addition to the backlog of paper applications, IRCC is taking steps to clear the backlog and processing 80% of all new applications within service standards.

To do this, over 1,000 new staff have been hired and there are plans to expand access to the citizenship application status tracker to representatives.

Canada’s immigration backlog remains at 2.6 million people according to fresh IRCC data.

In June this year, Indians accounted for over a quarter of 2.4 million pending cases, at approximately 700,000.

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