No progress with P.E.I. officials, but hate circulating online, immigration protesters say
Organizers say they're asking for exemptions for about 150 people, not thousands
Organizers behind a protest seeking exemptions for foreign workers from a recent change in P.E.I.'s immigration rules say they have not made any progress with the provincial government.
Some of the affected newcomers, most of whom are from India, held a news conference Thursday in Charlottetown to share their personal stories and clear up misinformation and hate they say is circulating online.
"We have been portrayed [with] the wrong picture online," Jaspreet Singh Sivia said.
"It was never our notion to be entitled to [permanent residency] or be demanding. We are in that position where we can only request."
Caught in 'unfair' situation
Back in February, the P.E.I. government announced it would cut the number of people that it nominates for permanent residency in Canada through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
The number of nominees will fall by 25 per cent this year. The province has said it intends to focus nominations on sectors like health care and construction, where more workers are needed.
The largest reduction in nominations will come in the sales and service sector.
In response, protesters gathered in front of the provincial legislature for weeks. Some engaged in hunger strikes, which have since ended.
Thursday, organizers told CBC News they are fighting for the 150 people on P.E.I. who hold post-graduation work permits.
Those permits are available to international students who have recently graduated from a Canadian college or university and want to stay in Canada temporarily to work.
Many then use that time to gain the relevant work experience to apply for permanent residency, which is what those impacted say they were doing when the province announced it would no longer be focusing on food service and retail workers.
They are asking the provincial government to still consider their applications, even if their work experience is outside of the sectors the province is targeting.
We don't need hate or racism.— Jaspreet Singh Sivia
"We have been trying to get a meeting, but they haven't responded to that," Singh Sivia said Thursday.
Last month, the province's Workforce Minister Jenn Redmond sent a letter to the organizers saying the government has no plans to reverse course on its new policy.
In an email to CBC News, provincial officials said that position still has not changed, but staff have met with more than 75 foreign nationals in person on immigration and workforce pathways.
Provincial issue, feds staying out
Charlottetown MP Sean Casey was also present at news conference. He did not speak at the podium, but took a question from the crowd about why the federal government is not doing anything.
"The decision that was made was a bad decision, but it was a decision that the province of Prince Edward Island was entitled to make, and the only level of government that can resolve this is the province of Prince Edward Island," Casey told the room.
Just yesterday, P.E.I. Premier Dennis King spoke at a news conference with the other Canadian premiers and addressed what he called "jurisdictional creep," and asked the federal government to stop meddling in provincial matters.
"The minute the province of Prince Edward Island says to the federal government … 'we need your help to resolve this,' I'll be there," Casey said.
Similar protests happened in Manitoba earlier this year before that province requested extensions for work permits that were set to expire. The federal government granted that request.
The feds are also trying to cut immigration numbers across the country, citing efforts to ease a national housing shortage.
'Left with no choice'
Protest organizers used their time at the news conference to share their personal stories, which included their commitment to staying in P.E.I., missing the deaths of close relatives while pursuing life in Canada, and feeling ashamed to return to their home countries.
"My father has taken loans to send me here for my better future and their future as well. I'm helping my family to pay off the loans that they have taken for me," one of the speakers, Navpreet Navpreet, told the room.
"I am left with no choice right now and I don't know what to do at this moment."
Speakers also addressed misinformation circulating online about the workers' intentions and what they are asking of the government.
"We are a vulnerable group of workers, we are not demanding, we are stuck here. We are the victims of unfair policies from the province," Singh Sivia said.
"We need your support and help, we don't need hate or racism from you."
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