Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
National

New international grad work permit program opens

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 27 Jan, 2021 07:06 PM
  • New international grad work permit program opens

A new work-permit program aimed at encouraging international students to settle in Canada opened for applications Wednesday.

The federal government announced the program this month after international students argued the pandemic had disrupted the job market, making it hard to gain work experience required to apply for permanent residency before their permits expired.

Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said the new permit offers people more time to find work in Canada after graduating from post-secondary studies.

Former students with post-graduation work permits that have expired or will soon expire can now apply for open work permits, he said.

Under the new program, people have 18 more months to stay in the country to look for work.

The federal department estimates that about 52,000 graduates could benefit.

Post-graduation work permits allow international graduates to gain work experience in “skilled” Canadian jobs and later apply for permanent residence in the country.

Sarom Rho, who leads a migrant student campaign with Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, said the change is a major win for the thousands of people who feared potential deportation once their non-renewable permits expired.

"This is a massive change and it's absolutely a step in the right direction," Rho said in an interview.

"However, there are many who are still left behind."

Some people whose permits were near expiring have already left the country and can't apply under the new rules, Rho said, or they went home to visit their families and have been unable to return due to travel restrictions.

Others whose permits are set to expire after November 2021 are also ineligible to apply, Rho said.

Rho's group, Migrant Students United, also wants Ottawa to consider hours worked in essential jobs unrelated to graduates' programs of study towards their permanent residency applications.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

UPDATE: Toronto Police looking for 23 year old missing woman Manpreet Kaur

UPDATE: Toronto Police looking for 23 year old missing woman Manpreet Kaur
UPDATE: The Toronto Police Service would like to thank the public for their assistance in locating missing woman Manpreet Kaur. She is has been re-united with her family and is safe and sound. 

UPDATE: Toronto Police looking for 23 year old missing woman Manpreet Kaur

Plan in place to empty Vancouver homeless camp

Plan in place to empty Vancouver homeless camp
A statement from the Vancouver Park Board says the city has identified several properties that can be used as temporary indoor spaces to bring people inside.

Plan in place to empty Vancouver homeless camp

Fires emit more air toxins than industry: study

Fires emit more air toxins than industry: study
The increasing size and severity of wildfires is a big reason why the levels haven't changed despite improved industrial emissions, she said.

Fires emit more air toxins than industry: study

Vancouver resident Amar Najat Jalal's death make 18th homicide for that city

Vancouver resident Amar Najat Jalal's death make 18th homicide for that city
Vancouver resident, Amar Najat Jalal was found in the middle of the intersection suffering from gun shot wounds

Vancouver resident Amar Najat Jalal's death make 18th homicide for that city

Canada boosts COVID-19 foreign aid by $485M

Canada boosts COVID-19 foreign aid by $485M
The new funds are going towards the Access to COVID-19 Tools, or "ACT" Accelerator, which was created in April by the World Health Organization, the French government, the European Commission and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Canada boosts COVID-19 foreign aid by $485M

What we know about the first COVID vaccine doses

What we know about the first COVID vaccine doses
Canada is set to receive 249,000 doses of the drug from the U.S. pharmaceutical giant and its German partner BioNTech by the end of the month and four million total doses — enough to vaccinate two million people — by March.

What we know about the first COVID vaccine doses