Many graduates who were part of the 2021 programme, had to leave their jobs when their work permits expired with no guarantee they’ll gain permanent residency’
New Delhi: Some Indian students in Canada allege the country is using them as a cheap source of labour and dispensing with them when no longer needed, a media report said on Tuesday, a report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
To meet the labour shortage and high unemployment rate, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser had announced a new temporary measure to address the probl to a Bloomberg report said.
The report said , the government of Premier Justin Trudeau’s had introduced the permit extension move for 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 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.
For over 1.83 lakh Indian students, Canada is the second most popular destination for higher education.
Canada has processed more than 4.52 lakh study permit applications since January — a 23 per cent 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 programme, had to leave their jobs when their work permits expired with no guarantee they’ll gain permanent residency.
Even if their applications are eventually cleared, students face months of uncertainty limbo without job, income, or health and social benefits, Bloomberg reported.
“I’m basically sitting at home and living off 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.
“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 bogged down 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 fresh batches of immigrants.
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 are interested in staying on as permanent residents once studies are over and done with.
According to MEA data in the first six months of 2022, as many as 64,667 Indians going abroad for higher studies named the USA as their destination, followed closely by Canada (60,258).
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