A Cameroonian expelled from Canada in 2020 for continuing to work part-time after graduating was finally able to return to Quebec on Saturday.
• Also read: GND, PSPP and political extremism
• Also read: Political correctness versus democracy
• Also read: Immigration and ‘Rise of Extremes’: PSPP Claims Right to Debate
Rose Eva, a young programmer from Cameroon, was expected at Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau Airport at 3pm by her family and elected representatives of the Bloc Québécois.
As a reminder, the young woman came to Quebec in 2017 to do an engineering degree in computer programming at the Teccart Institute in Montreal.
She was a full-time student and worked part-time in a clothing store in Mirabel, as permitted by law.
She managed to finish her program ahead of the other students and graduated in September 2019, three months early.
In December of the same year, Rose Eva went to Lacolle Customs to apply for permanent resident status.
After a series of questions, she was asked when she finished her studies and whether she worked afterwards. The Cameroonian answered honestly.
According to Canada Immigration officials, Rose Eva was wrong. She should have stopped working the same day she graduated and then her student visa should have been changed so she could work without going to school.
The 23-year-old was expelled from the country in January 2020 and was only able to return this Saturday.
When he arrived at the airport, elected officials from the Bloc Québécois took the opportunity to denounce the flaws in the federal immigration system.
“Immigration Canada and the federal government must do better and improve their policies and communications to prevent this type of situation from happening again,” argued MPs Rhéal Éloi Fortin and Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe.
“By believing that she could legally continue her work as her college years were not officially over, Rose Eva made an honest mistake that cost her dearly. We believe that the regulation deserves clarification and, above all, improvement, especially in the current context in which many employers are fighting labor shortages,” said Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, proposing to abolish this administrative formality.
Since last fall, Immigration Canada has allowed certain students to meet the 20-hour weekly limit of off-campus work.
Some students are even allowed to work full-time during scheduled breaks, regardless of their study load.
“The case of Rose Eva illustrates well the slowness and lack of judgment of the federal authorities,” said the deputies of the Bloc Québécois. “We have collectively robbed ourselves of a valuable computing resource for three years, freshly graduated from an institution in Quebec and perfectly integrated into our society, although a labor shortage has emerged and is still hitting with full force. whipping multiple sectors of our economy.”