Temporary residents, employers in N.S. struggling with immigration changes

Temporary residents and employers in Nova Scotia are expressing distress over recent changes to provincial immigration pathways, which they say are leading to potential deportations and significant disruption.

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After 29 months, my file is just being kicked from the system. So, the funny part is, and the sad part as well, I couldn’t even reapply my file.

Sandeep Kaur, who has lived and worked in Halifax for years, found her application to the Nova Scotia Nominee Program closed after a lengthy wait. "After 29 months, my file is just being kicked from the system. So, the funny part is, and the sad part as well, I couldn’t even reapply my file," she told Global News. The program now has a 12-month expiry for submissions and closed all applications filed before May 1, 2024.

Adding to the hardship, Kaur can no longer reapply because her industry, the food sector, is no longer eligible for nominations. Her work permit expires in 2025, and she faces leaving Canada in December if no changes occur. "It’s literally drained me emotionally and financially. I am planning to go back which I don’t want to," Kaur said.

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It’s literally drained me emotionally and financially. I am planning to go back which I don’t want to.

Kaur and her friend Arshdeep Singh, who worked as a security officer until his permit expired, are urging the province to extend work permits for up to two years. This would allow temporary residents to keep working and contributing to the economy while awaiting decisions on their permanent residency applications. A petition supporting these changes has garnered over 1,670 worker and 57 employer signatures.

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It doesn’t matter like if you have a family over here, doesn’t matter if you have friends and you build a career or a life over here. Just because of one document you are nothing.

Nova Scotia's Department of Labour, Skills, and Immigration stated that work permit extensions are a federal government responsibility. They noted that a temporary federal policy for permit extensions in Manitoba is no longer in effect. Meanwhile, businesses like Cabco Communications Group are already losing valuable employees due to expiring permits, with president Mike Mills lamenting the difficulty of losing "hardworking individuals who were contributing to our business, the economy, paying taxes."

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The permit extension measure referenced by petition organizers was a temporary federal public policy implemented in Manitoba in 2024 and is no longer in effect.