Surrey: Immigration Minister Marc Miller said refugee claims have to be legitimate and these cannot just be a way of staying in the country. Interacting with members of the Punjabi media in Surrey on Monday, he made the statement in a response to a surge in the number of applications for seeking refugee status in Canada.
“If you have an expiring work permit, you either qualify to apply under the permanent residence or you have a choice as to stay or go. The path is the reality of conditions under people are granted their permits,” said Miller. “Anyone in this country has rights that include the right to apply claims. But when these are legitimate, it impacts the integrity of our system. It makes us unfortunately look at the student system and the system that creates the conditions for that. It makes us question whether we should have done that in the first place, so we have to adjust.”
The minister said it is frustrating for sure to see, but the pool of talent they have in the country from people to students is somethings that should not be underestimated. “We should be able to use them in the right way and will be able to have them in the country a part of the labour force and eventually permanent residents,” Miller said.
His comments come in light of a recent report in the media that visitors arriving in Montreal on a flight from New Delhi were told to apply for refugee claims.
On job prospectus in Canada, Marc Miller said there are job openings in different parts of the country and they don’t see lines in remote parts. He said local mayors and officials are “begging” for more talent in Northeren Ontario, Yukon and Northwest Territories.
On the occasion, Liberal Member Parliament from Surrey-Newton Sukh Dhaliwal, who is also a member of a federal committee on immigration, was also present. He had arranged the meet with the media.