Some channels active on social media are presenting these decrees as a hoax. In the last few years, people who came here on study visas, tourist and visitor visas, have started dreaming of getting a work permit and becoming permanent here by paying large sums of money to some brokers. Some have filed files to obtain refugee status through such brokers. Thus, a large number of people have arrived here under other categories along with international students. The result is that there are no jobs for these new people. They have also become poor for house rent, groceries and other essential expenses. The situation of those who have arrived here in the last one and a half to two years is also the same. As an alternative, some women and girls have started working hard to look after children, clean and do other household chores. The beautiful young girl who came to clean the house said that it has been one and a half years since she came here. Earlier there was a job, now she has also lost it. She begged me to get her some other housework done.
When asked how many people are doing this job, she said that many. Some people even talk about girls being forced into wrong jobs. But I have no such proof or belief. Canada is going through a recession. On the one hand, jobs are not available. Even those who are available are forced to work for low wages. House rents for accommodation have increased. Even those who buy the price do not buy these houses anymore. It is being said that the number of immigrants from outside has increased. That is why there has been a shortage of houses, but this is not entirely true. The reason for this housing problem is the government’s disengagement from the social housing sector over the past few decades. There is a shortage of hostels for students in colleges and universities, due to which students are having to rent houses in the population outside the university campus. Another important reason is the large-scale investment of money by capable people and small investors in the housing market. A few years ago, banks had reduced interest rates to as low as one and a half percent. The result was that people started buying more than one house. House prices increased by two to four hundred thousand dollars. Thus, the overall market behavior boomed and inflation became out of reach of the common man. Homeowners who bought expensive houses in the lure of cheap interest rates are now stuck in a precarious situation. House prices have come down to two to two and a half lakhs and mortgages have increased.
Two to three decades ago, many Punjabis were commonly seen filling up their car tanks at gas stations here. Gradually, these workers were replaced by machines. Now the car stops at the gas station. The person gets out. He scans his card, holds the pipe, fills the tank with fuel and drives away. Machines have also replaced the security guard. Robots have also taken away the rights of labor working in warehouses. Now, there doesn’t seem to be much left except babysitting or cleaning houses. Artificial intelligence (AI) has yet to show its mettle. The possibility of even worse days for uneducated labor cannot be denied. Canada is slowly moving towards becoming a nightmare for immigrants. The newly elected President of the United States, Trump, has surprised Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by saying that we will make Canada the 52nd state of America and make you its governor. Although Canada has taken this as a joke, Trump has again called Trudeau the governor in his next post. In a global phenomenon, this hints at the decline of a country. In fact, the reason for this decline is the unbridled policies adopted by the Canadian government in recent years. Distributing study visas, work permits and permanent immigration to immigrants like a gift has created a frustrating situation. Now the Canadian government has tightened immigration policies, due to which the number of students coming from outside has decreased. Due to the flawed system of LMIA, there have been scams on a large scale. People from our own community who have settled here have earned millions of dollars by making LMIA a business. Students and visitors coming here will face difficulties due to these reforms. But this was necessary to prevent rising inflation, shortage of houses, lack of jobs and exploitation of immigrants doing labor.
Due to the visitor visa policy that opens the way for many loopholes, the number of people reaching Canada from abroad and applying for asylum is continuously increasing. If we talk about statistics, the number of Indian citizens seeking asylum in Canada during the current year alone, a large number of whom are Punjabis, has increased by five hundred percent compared to the previous year. These statistics explain why there is a shortage of jobs here and why girls who have come for higher studies are forced to work at home. Education up to secondary level is free here. Further, if we talk about university education, it is so expensive that it is almost impossible for children who have come on a study visa. Even the children of permanent residents and citizens here are forced to leave their studies halfway. Overall, we can say that in order to maintain the attraction that made Canada attractive to people from all over the world, there is a need to rethink the weak aspects of government policies, especially immigration-related policies.
