International students of Indian origin are protesting for a second week in Charlottetown, PEI over their potential deportation from Canada following a change in Prince Edward Island’s immigration policy.
Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province, recently amended its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) rules to decrease the influx of immigrants, citing strain on healthcare and housing infrastructure.
Indian students currently in Canada are protesting against the provincial government’s decision to change immigration rules while they were already in the country, and to subsequently deny them work permits. Despite having graduated from Canadian universities, these students are now at risk of deportation.
The protestors are demanding an extension of work permits and a review of the recent changes to immigration policies.
So far the PEI government is unwilling to reverse its decision for those students who were already studying in Canada when it was made nor to make an exception for them.
The students are not planning to give up though, with another demonstration planned for May 23rd, 2024. “We don’t want free, we want fair,” they’ve stated.
Meanwhile Indian officials apparently are not aware of the situation. “You know we have a large number of students who have gone to Canada to study. The figure is pretty significant. But what you are mentioning is that several students are facing problems that we haven’t come across as of now. Sorry, deportation. I don’t have an update on that. We are not aware of,” recently stated Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.