‘Betrayed’: Migrant health-care workers in B.C. fear deportation after federal immigration changes

Health-care workers rallied in Surrey Thursday, calling on Ottawa to reverse changes they say have left hundreds in the Lower Mainland facing deportation.

Health-care workers rallied in Surrey Thursday, calling on Ottawa to reverse changes that the Hospital Employees Union said have left hundreds of migrants in the Lower Mainland facing potential deportation.

Dozens of non-clinical health-care workers took part in the rally outside Surrey Memorial Hospital, many worried about whether they will be able to stay in Canada.

“We all felt betrayed and disrespected because those jobs were our hope for a better future,” said Jasveer Kaur.

She said when she took a health-care job as a housekeeping aid, she believed it was a path to permanent residency in Canada through the Provincial Nominee Program or PNP. Now, she’s worried what will happen when her work permit expires next year.

“Migrant workers are part of the solution to the labour shortage in British Columbia,” said Lynn Bueckert, with the union.

Last fall, the federal government announced plans to reduce immigration to alleviate pressures on housing, infrastructure and social services. The number of PNP spots for B.C. were slashed.

“Notionally, this year, we were supposed to receive 11,000 (PNP’s), but now we are left with 4,000. So, working with the Ministry of Health to prioritize the needs of our province, we have made the decision, just for this year, that we have prioritized clinical health-care workers,” said Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, Anne Kang.

That means HEU members, like housekeeping staff, food services workers and dietary aids, are currently excluded from the PNP.

• Read more: B.C. accepting only 1,100 new immigrant applications, nominations to focus on health

The union said the program changes mean more than 500 members who work in the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal regions will have their visas expire by the end of the year.

“They are at risk of being deported because they will not have a work permit,’ said Bueckert.

“(The federal government) just made a sudden change and now we can’t use that experience here anywhere else,” said Harish Kumer, a food service worker who is also worried about what will happen to migrant workers.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Josie Osborne said the federal changes have been hard for workers “who have put their hopes in the Provincial Nominee Program as a pathway to stay in B.C. and work in the health-care sector they love.”

In a statement, the minister added, “Cuts to the federal allocations for the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) will make health sector recruitment harder, not easier.”