Indian students in Canada’s PEI plan big blackout on June 19

Indian students in Canada’s Prince Edward Island protesting against recent immigration policy changes that could lead to their deportation, are planning to resume their demonstrations and “will organise a big blackout” on June 19. The students had previously been on a hunger strike from May 24 but paused it on June 1.

“We are organising another big blackout, and we want all our people to join us on June 19. All communities, Islanders, please come outside your homes. It’s a nice day, and we want to send the right message in the right way because there is another draw on June 20,” protest leader Rupinder Pal Singh said in a podcast.

The goal of the June 19 demonstration is to show the impact of the policy changes.

“Let’s show them real numbers and real faces to demonstrate how many people are affected. If we can gather around 1,000 people on that day, they will understand their mistake and realise it is the right time to make things right,” Singh said.

This comes ahead of a draw for nominations to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) on June 20.

The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is for workers who have the skills, education, and work experience to contribute to the economy of a specific province or territory, want to live in that province or territory, and want to become permanent residents of Canada.

INDIAN STUDENTS PROTESTING IN PEI SINCE MAY 9

The Indian students have been protesting against the deportation in Prince Edward Island’s Charlottetown since May 9, with many members starting a hunger strike just over a week ago, on May 24, on the lawn in front of the George Coles Building, where the PEI Legislature is located.

As a result of the hunger strike, their health conditions were deteriorating, and some even started to faint.

The changes in the provincial immigration policy have made it more difficult for individuals working in sales and service roles to be nominated for permanent residency by the province, even for those already employed on the Island.

Most of the protesters are recent graduates from Canadian universities or colleges.

As international students, they were given open work permits for three years and chose to work in Prince Edward Island due to its reputation as a relatively straightforward pathway to permanent residency, which is the first step toward Canadian citizenship.