Will evaluate each case: Trudeau on Indian students facing deportation
Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 Jun, 2023 11:02 AM
New Delhi/Ottawa, June 8 (IANS) Assuring the 700 Indian students who are facing deportation from Canada over fake admission letters, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said they will evaluate each case and the victims of fraud will have an opportunity to demonstrate their situation and present evidence to support their case.
The remarks came as hundreds of Indian students, mostly from Punjab, have been taking on to the streets in Canada saying they were cheated by their immigration consultation agency in India that provided them fake documents, of which they were unaware of.
"We are deeply aware of cases of international students facing removal orders over fraudulent college acceptance letters. To be clear, our focus is on identifying the culprits not penalising the victims," Trudeau said during a parliament debate on Wednesday.
"Victims of fraud will have an opportunity to demonstrate their situation and present evidence to support their case," the Prime Minister said, while responding to Sikh-origin NDP leader Jagmeet Singh's concerns on the state of defrauded students, who are set to be deported his month.
"We recognise the immense contributions international students bring to our country, and we remain committed to supporting victims of fraud as we evaluate each case," Trudeau said.
Singh's NDP is reportedly preparing to introduce a unanimous consent motion in Parliament to cancel removal orders to support these students while also facilitating a pathway to permanent residency for them.
It will also assist students who could face deportation due to bogus enrollment offers.
"So my question is... will the Prime Minister stay the deportation of all these students that are impacted and provide a pathway to permanent residency for these students?" Singh asked Trudeau, presenting the case of victims.
According to the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA), more than 700 Indian students are reportedly facing deportation after finding that their educational institution's admission offer letters were fake.
Most of these students had come to the country to study in 2018 and 2019.
The fraud was discovered when the students applied for permanent residency in Canada.
Brijesh Mishra, a Jalandhar-based agent, was responsible for providing fake admission letters, charging students thousands of dollars.
He charged more than Rs 16 lakh per student in addition to admission fees claiming to get them to prestigious colleges.
Meanwhile, students have been continuing with their sit-ins since May 29 at Airport Road of Mississauga, outside the CBSA's head office, holding banners saying, 'Unite against deportation', 'Stop deportation' and 'We want justice'.
The federal government says it will spend up to $1.5 billion over the next three years to improve access to drugs used to treat rare diseases. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says up to $1.4 billion of that money will be used to help provinces and territories expand coverage of new and existing drugs that treat rare diseases.
American presidents have a long history of pushing Canada to spend more on its military, including Barack Obama in a speech to Parliament in 2016. Such pressure has come as Canada consistently lags most of its allies in terms of defence spending as a percentage of its national GDP.
A statement from West Vancouver police says the male victim was involved in an altercation with an unknown man just before 5 p.m. Tuesday. The statement does not confirm how the victim died.
VPD officers responded to Granville and Georgia Street around 1:30 a.m. following reports that a man with a hammer was walking down the street and smashing glass at bus stops. Sergey Kurmanaev was taken to jail and has been charged with one count of mischief over $5,000.
The U.S. remains unhappy with how Canada has allocated the quotas that give American dairy producers access to markets north of the border. Canada and Mexico both took issue with how the U.S. defined foreign auto content. And Canada and the U.S. oppose Mexico favouring state-owned energy providers.
Coyotes are found across Vancouver and prefer sheltered, wooded areas to raise their families, so the board says it will occasionally close trails in high-traffic locations like Stanley Park where they are known to frequent.
