Canada work permit row: Thousands of Indian students are protesting in Calgary and it has a Jalandhar connection
Students and reports from Calgary suggest that hundreds of graduates could be impacted, with around 480 students reportedly connected to the programmes in question.
PTC News Desk: Over 1,000 students mostly from Punjab have been protesting in Canada's Calgary against the denial of post-graduation work permits (PGWPs) for the past nearly 10 days.
It has now come to the fore that the protest against rejection of PGWPs has a connection with Jalandhar firm.
The dispute over post-graduation work permits (PGWPs) involving Indian students particularly from Punjab triggered a massive protest by the students drawing significant momentum and a response from the provincial government and Canadian immigration authorities.
Why are students protesting ?
The students said they spent around C$32,000 (about Rs 20 lakh) on tuition for two-year programmes. They completed their studies believing that they would be eligible to apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) in Canada. However, they now claim that their programmes are being classified as non-credit courses, which do not qualify for a PGWP.
The exact number of students affected is not yet known. However, students and reports from Calgary suggest that hundreds of graduates could be impacted, with around 480 students reportedly connected to the programmes in question. Students fear the number could increase as more applications are reviewed.
The protests gained momentum in July, with students demanding that their cases be reconsidered. They said they followed the available education route, completed their courses and spent a large amount of money on their studies.
The students argue that after completing their programmes, they should not be left without the work opportunity they expected to receive after graduation.
Jalandhar firm ‘linked’ to work permit row
The students were reportedly brought to Canada after being approached by an immigration firm in Jalandhar. The owner of the firm was also said to be a co-owner of the Canadian Institute of Osteopathic Therapy (CIOT).
CIOT was a designated learning institution that operated through a public-private partnership with Portage College, where the students enrolled in diploma programmes ranging from eight months to two years.
The immigration agent, who later entered the real estate business, reportedly owns a luxury house in New Jawahar Nagar and is also developing a high-end residential project in Jalandhar.
Repeated attempts to contact him by phone were unsuccessful.
However, some of his close friends in Jalandhar's immigration business defended him and said he was not responsible for the current situation. One of them said Canadian authorities frequently change their rules for international students and that these changes had created the problem. He also claimed that the agent had helped the students travel to Canada through a legal process.