Cabinet Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak urged the Central Government to intervene immediately in the post-graduation work permit crisis being faced by Indian students, particularly Punjabi students, in Canada. He appealed to the Ministry of External Affairs to engage with the Canadian government at the diplomatic level and protect the affected Indian students from deportation.
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The Minister said that the students who enrolled at Portage College in Brampton in 2024 have completed their two-year post-graduation program. However, after the change of government in Canada, the authorities there have arbitrarily altered the rules and withheld the students’ work permits. This is nothing short of outright fraud.
He said that despite paying hefty tuition fees and complying with all legal procedures, our talented children, among whom a large number are daughters, are today being forced to protest by setting up tents on the streets in the midst of heavy rainfall.
The Minister also accused the Ministry of External Affairs of the Central Government of adopting an indifferent approach in this matter. He said that when the country’s children are crying on the streets in a foreign land, the Government of India cannot afford to remain a silent spectator. This is not merely an issue concerning a few students, but a question of the nation’s self-respect and the future of our youth. The Central Government must immediately register a strong diplomatic protest with the Canadian government on this highly sensitive issue and ensure the restoration of the students’ work permits.
The AAP leader said that families across Punjab, including those in Pathankot and Gurdaspur, are deeply concerned and outraged after witnessing the plight of their children. The Punjab Government is continuously pursuing this matter at its own level and is taking every possible step. However, the authority to engage in international diplomatic dialogue rests with the Central Government. Therefore, the Modi Government must wake up immediately, establish contact with the Canadian government, and find an immediate resolution to this crisis.
