Some migrant workforces are ready to go on a hunger strike if Canada’s Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) government does not inverse some current changes to who gets partiality under the Provincial Nominee Program, informs one of the individuals behind the protests in Charlottetown.
Rupinder Pal Singh said they are giving the province up until May 16th to agree to their demands, which comprise prolonging work permits for migrants who are already here, working and hopeful for permanent residency. Our province gave us untruthful hopes, said Singh, who came to Canada from India in 2019.
They were giving us the wrong data. This is a manipulation. P.E.I.’s Subdivision of Workforce, Advanced Learning and Population said a conference is arranged between Minister Jenn Redmond and coordinators of the protest to “overhear their fears.” Singh cautioned that the “clock is ticking” about the call for alteration.
If any of our difficulties are not satisfied by the 16th of May, [if] we are not grandfathered, we are going to change the name of the protest. This will be a hunger strike to death, said Singh. We are losing our work licenses.
In February, the P.E.I. government publicized it would reduce the number of individuals from other countries that it submits for permanent residency in Canada through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The number of nominees will fall by 25 percent in 2024, partially as an outcome of pressure on P.E.I.’s healthcare scheme and housing market. The province’s new population strategy specified that of the slots that remained, individuals who work in specific professions including health care and construction would be given priority.
That states that hundreds of migrants in other trades, such as retail sales and service, may not have their work permits prolonged when they end in the next few months. The province has informed the alterations to the immigration scheme are only provisional but did not give a specific timeline. I did not come here to destroy my life or to ruin my future, said protester Jaspreet Singh Sivia.
I came with a lot of hope that Canada is a fruitful country. I would be able to thrive and make my life better, much better here. But subsequently, to these changes, my life has not been developing that way and it’s rather the opposite picture that I’m seeing here. The protests on the walkways near P.E.I. government buildings started on May 9 with about 25 individuals holding handmade signs. It nurtured more than 300 individuals on Monday. Jaspreet Singh Sivia said numerous individuals have been tooting their horns in support, and many employers have also been sympathetic because their trades have been impacted. We are happy that the public is standing with us. We would also like to appeal to our other Black and white brothers and sisters from other communities to join because there’s nothing unfair, we are demanding. The other minorities can take a stand for us and we can back them up, as well.
