Canada, once the world’s most popular country for refugees and immigrants, is now taking a new step. Under this, the Canadian government is going to launch a global online advertising campaign claiming difficulties for refugees. This advertisement will tell that it is no longer easy to take refuge in Canada. Canada’s immigration department has said that the government will release an advertisement worth $ 178,662 by March in 11 languages, including Spanish, Urdu, Ukrainian, Hindi and Tamil. This is being described as an attempt by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s anti-immigrant government to make major changes in immigration and reduce the growing influx of refugees.
Canada has blamed immigrants for the housing crisis in its country. The government says that the influx of outsiders has increased housing prices and due to this, locals are facing difficulties. However, some experts have argued that this is an attempt by the Trudeau government to worsen the situation. Surveys show that Canadians believe population growth is causing them problems.
The budget for the four-month campaign is a third of the total spent on similar ads in the past seven years. The ministry said search queries such as “How to claim asylum in Canada” and “Refugees Canada” will trigger sponsored content titled “Canada’s asylum system – Asylum facts.” One ad reads, “Claiming asylum in Canada is not easy. There are strict guidelines for qualifying. Find out what you need to know before you make a life-changing decision.”
Canada has long been a country that welcomes people from around the world. However, Canadian leaders are now cutting back on immigration. The Canadian government recently announced that it will give more priority to Canadians in jobs. Canada is also looking to ease the anger of President-elect Donald Trump in the US by tightening immigration rules. Just a few days ago, Trump had alleged that a large number of illegal immigrants are entering his country from Canada every year.
Indians living in Canada on temporary permits are now facing deportation. Canada’s Immigration Minister Mark Miller has told a parliamentary committee that about 5 million temporary permits are set to expire by the end of 2025. The permits that have expired belong to 7,66,000 foreign students. Foreign students in Canada are facing increasing challenges due to recent policy changes made by Justin Trudeau’s government.
A Canadian minister has told a parliamentary committee that immigration officials expect most people to leave the country voluntarily. However, with such a large number of temporary permits expiring, there are now fears that the government may forcibly deport people to their countries. Conservative MP Tom Kemick, looking at the large number of visas expiring, asked how the government would ensure this.
Miller said that, however, not all temporary residents will have to leave. Some will receive renewal or postgraduate work permits, which allow foreign students with a Canadian diploma or degree to gain the work experience needed for permanent residence applications. Such permits are usually issued for 9 months.
The Indian community is one of the largest immigrant groups living in Canada. In such a situation, a large number of Indians are being affected by the changed policies of the Canadian government. Since August this year, Indian youth have been protesting the changing policies by setting up tents in the Canadian city of Brampton. The Indian youth say that they came to Canada with the hope that they would be allowed to stay here. But they are facing a crisis due to the policies of the Trudeau government.
The Canadian government has increased the fees for all those wishing to come here, including international student immigration, from December 1. This decision may come as a big shock to Punjabis and may ruin their dreams of studying and living abroad. Experts believe that due to the increase in application fees, processing fees may also double. The application fees in which the Canadian government has announced an increase include categories such as student, visitor visa, temporary residence, new study permit, work permit, etc. However, there is no guarantee that these categories may get a visa. Workers who arrived in Canada on a visitor visa used to become permanent by getting an LMIA permit, but now they cannot get a permit in this category. Similarly, students used to increase their permanent score by 55 points by getting a work permit, but the government has also stopped this. The market price of the permit is up to 40 thousand dollars. Nearly two and a half lakh students are facing layoffs. On the very first day of fee hike, 14,000 applications for political asylum have been received from Punjabis.
