'They are in stress, panic': International students, foreign workers protest for changes in Manitoba
'They are in stress, panic': International students, foreign workers protest for changes in Manitoba
A group of international students are calling for changes in how Manitoba decides who can stay in the province with permanent residency.
Dozens of people gathered on the front steps of the Manitoba Legislature Monday, calling for changes to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The program offers three streams for people to immigrate to Manitoba, including skilled workers, international education and business investors.
Among the crowd, international students and skilled workers who are in Manitoba on temporary work permits chanted for change in the program. The protest organizers say the requirement to receive the status is impossible to achieve for those transferring to Manitoba after graduation.
"Their temporary statuses are expiring soon. They are in stress, panic," said protest organizer Inderjit Gill, a former international student who has been through the provincial nominee program.
He said students who have been working in the province for the past two years have been waiting for an invitation to apply for the program. He said since 2022, to be invited to the program applicants must collect around 700 points awarded based on education, experience, age, and language ability.
It's a requirement the protesters say those who previously studied or worked outside the province cannot achieve due to deductions.
"They should lower the points and we can meet the requirements so everybody can be on the same page and can get their permanent residence," said Mandeep Rohilla, an international student applying for the program.
In addition to lowering the score cut-off, the group wants the province to give an extension to work permits set to expire.
"These are the frontline workers who move here from other provinces to make Manitoba better," Gill said during the protest. "We want steady growth for Manitoba and they are the ones contributing to that growth."
In a prepared statement to CTV News, Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration Minister Jon Reyes said he anticipates changes will be coming to the provincial nominee program.
He said the Manitoba Immigration Advisory Council has been exploring ways to improve current policies and programs, including the provincial nominee points system.
"I've spoken with many postgraduates who have created lives for themselves here in Manitoba, and I’m always open to suggestions if it helps the settlement of newcomers who can contribute to our province’s economy," Reyes said in the statement.
He said a report from the advisory council, which will include recommendations, is expected to be released soon.
Cape Breton University has more than doubled in size by enrolling thousands of international students, and critics say the campus and community weren't ready. Watch the documentary 'Cash Cow' on CTV W5, Saturday at 7 p.m.
The latest seasonal outlook from The Weather Network shows early April will continue to be chilly with flip-flopping temperatures bringing above and below the usual levels of precipitation seen around this time.
A new Canadian study of 4.8 million people says a daily alcoholic drink isn't likely to send anyone to an early grave, nor will it offer any of the health benefits touted by previous studies, even if it is organic red wine.
W5 profiles the man who makes the sounds for breaking bones and squealing tires in Hollywood’s biggest films; and he does it from a small town in Ontario. Watch 'Sound Farms' at 7 p.m. on CTV W5.
Statistics Canada has released its new report about the Canadians level of confidence in Canada’s institutions, finding that recent immigrants are more likely to express confidence in the media and parliament.
U.S. President Joe Biden has all but announced he's running for reelection, but key questions about the 2024 campaign are unresolved: Who will manage it? Where will it be based? When will he finally make it official?
In a choice forced upon them by the Canadian government, four mothers have made the agonizing decision to forfeit an opportunity to repatriate their children from open air prisons in northeast Syria.
The sale has started of former Saskatchewan government liquor store buildings. The province got out of liquor retailing earlier this month and is disposing of all assets.
In an attempt to take pressure off hospital emergency rooms, the Saskatchewan government will offer a bump in pay for family doctors who work later hours.
Cape Breton University has more than doubled in size by enrolling thousands of international students, and critics say the campus and community weren't ready. Watch the documentary 'Cash Cow' on CTV W5, Saturday at 7 p.m.
A northern Ontario man has been banned from licenced hunting and fined $5,000 after pleading guilty to having more than six times the legal limit of grouse and obstructing conservation officers.
A Brampton, Ont. man is under arrest after what is being described as a “troubling series of events” that saw female paramedics in Peel Region allegedly sexually assaulted and harassed.
The leader of Ontario's new democrats says she's removed long-time party member Michael Mantha from caucus amid an independent investigation into alleged workplace misconduct.
The United Conservative Party (UCP) of Alberta announced Saturday that Rajan Sawhney will run as a UCP candidate for Calgary North-West after announcing in February that she wouldn't be running for re-election in Calgary North-East.
Akwesasne Mohawk Police say they are working with Immigration Canada and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to confirm the identities of the eight migrants whose bodies were pulled from the St. Lawrence River this week.
April Fools' Day -- better known as poisson d'Avril in Quebec -- is upon us. Some of the province's familiar faces got into the spirit Saturday with a few light-hearted social media pranks.
After the RCMP commissioner admitted he didn't read the Mass Casualty Commission’s final recommendations, family members of those killed in the April 2020 tragedy say they have doubts the force will change.
Cape Breton University has more than doubled in size by enrolling thousands of international students, and critics say the campus and community weren't ready. Watch the documentary 'Cash Cow' on CTV W5, Saturday at 7 p.m.
Officials in Vancouver said they plan to meet with the artist and volunteers who are keeping vigil on a children's shoe memorial on the steps of the city's art gallery in an effort to end the tribute to children who didn't return from residential schools.
A Vancouver Island woman managed to capture something on video last Sunday that experts say is extremely rare. Maxine Gillette calls it a once in a lifetime experience.
