200000 international students protest for 90 days: call for extension of work visas and fair immigration policies

More than 200000 Canadian international student graduates have work visas expiring in 2024 and 2025, and they face the risk of identity expiration and deportation.

On August 30th of this year, a committee composed of affected former international students began setting up tents next to the busiest highway in Brampton to protest the sudden change in immigration policy by the federal government.

As of this Wednesday, the protests have continued for 90 days, calling on the government to extend expiring work visas, end exploitative practices based on labor market impact assessments (LMIA), and provide fair permanent residency pathways.

Former international student Simrat Kaur recalled Canada's slogan for promoting international education overseas: "Learn, Explore, Work, and Stay".

Not long ago, she also heard former immigration minister Marco Mendicino praise international students' contributions to Canada during the pandemic on television and request them to stay in the country.

This is the 'Canadian Dream' that we are selling, "Kaur said, quoting Mendicino." We not only want you to study here, we want you to stay here. 'So we stayed."

At a press conference on Wednesday, Kaur expressed disappointment with the Canadian government's "betrayal" and joined union leaders in calling on the federal government to extend expiring work visas and provide a pathway for international students to obtain permanent residency.

Last month, the Canadian federal government announced a three-year immigration plan that will gradually reduce the target for permanent residents: 395000 in 2024, 380000 in 2026, and 365000 in 2027. At the same time, the number of temporary residents (including international students and foreign workers) will decrease to 445901 in 2025 and 445662 in 2026, and then slightly increase to 463101 in 2027.

The goal of the reduction is to achieve a population decrease of 0.2% within the next two years and restore a growth rate of 0.8% by 2027. The premise of this plan is that it is expected that 1262801 temporary residents will voluntarily leave Canada in 2024, with a further reduction of 1104658 people in 2026.

The predicament of temporary residents

Kaur pointed out that the reduction of permanent resident quotas and the policy of promoting the departure of people without valid identities have left temporary residents with no other choice. Many people are forced to buy time by converting to tourist visas, purchasing fake job invitations, re enrolling, and even filing unfounded asylum applications.

She said, "Many students' families are willing to sell land, borrow money, and become heavily in debt to achieve their Canadian dream. This is devastating for us

Union and industry support

Jessica Cooper, the president of the Peel District Local Branch of the Ontario Federation of Primary School Teachers, criticized the practice of treating international students and migrant workers as "disposable labor" and accused them of being scapegoats for Canada's affordability and housing crisis.