Trucking industry, other labour groups gather in Brampton to protest Ottawa’s drastic immigration moves

As winter nears, today's protest by former international students marked its 90th day, as those with post-graduation work permits demand the right to a clear pathway for permanent residency, after new rules in Ottawa have dramatically changed the landscape for hundreds of thousands of workers in the country.

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, has not indicated any policy reversal yet, after suddenly introducing rules that could see workers here on a Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) deported in the next two years. 

On Wednesday, labour leaders and community organizations across various sectors, including the Ontario Dump Truck Association (ODTA), Canada Truck Operators Association, and Ontario Federation of Labour, joined for a Brampton press conference in solidarity with young former international students whose official immigration status could soon expire under the new federal rules, with the possibility of mass deportations that could cripple industries critical to the economy.

The press conference took place at an encampment located at 295 Queen Street East, near Highway 410.

More than 200,000 graduates are at risk of deportation because of expiring work permits in 2024 and 2025.

“We are particularly concerned for the immigrants currently in Canada, who have dedicated years to working, training, and contributing within the trucking industry,” the Canada Truck Operators Association warned. “Due to recent changes to programs like the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), many of these individuals, who worked tirelessly during the pandemic and stepped up in times of national need, now face an uncertain future. These workers took on essential and often dangerous jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic—jobs that kept Canada’s economy afloat. Now, with over 200,000 PGWP holders at risk of deportation in 2024-2025, we must stand with these individuals who have already proven their worth and commitment to this country.”

Almost 50 labour unions and community organizations put their names on a statement of support, “expressing solidarity with these former international students who worked unsafe and essential jobs to bail out the Canadian economy at the height of COVID, but are now facing expulsion during a wave of anti-migrant rhetoric and policies.”

The trucking industry, which is currently facing a driver shortage and has benefited from post-secondary programs that train skilled young workers to enter the sector, would be particularly hard hit if the changes announced by Ottawa are not amended to protect the economy. 

Bob Punia, Executive Director of the Ontario Dump Truck Association, said former international students play a significant role in sustaining small businesses and ensuring supply chains are not disrupted. He urged the federal government to collaborate in the creation of a pathway to retain these skilled workers and address Canada’s growing labour shortages.

Recent graduates from abroad at the Brampton encampment where they are protesting recent immigration changes by Ottawa.

(Muhammad Hamza/The Pointer)

"We have multiple small businesses that operate in our business. We need these individuals to operate our businesses, whether it's accounting, whether it's mechanics, whether it's technicians," Punia said.

"We basically need all these individuals to keep our work lines streamlined and be able to operate an efficient business."

Canada has created critical infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, bridges and highways with thousands of foreign graduates, he said, and now many of the same workers are concerned that if they are deported, it will be difficult for the sectors they have helped to operate efficiently in the future as labour shortages mount.

"Without steady working individuals, it's very hard. Under labour shortages and us training individuals to get the job done is not something that you can turn off and turn on," Punia said. "Once they're gone, it's very hard to bring other individuals into the industry and be able to operate at maximum capacities."

It typically requires one to three years to train new employees in his industry, and with widespread infrastructure gaps and labour shortages he warns that the housing crisis and employment gaps in other key sectors will only get worse if the federal government does not address the compounding problem it has created.

"What are we going to do tomorrow when there's a demand for housing or there's a demand for schools or there's a demand for infrastructure? We are going to look at everybody else and say, ‘Hey, we told you guys that we need this.’"

He commended the determination of the former students enduring 90 days in increasingly harsh weather to advocate for their cause.

"I wanted to just applaud the individuals that spent over 90 days in this encampment or in these tents," Punia said. “This is a very difficult situation. I mean, I've only been here for an hour, and I'm shivering…you deserve to be here (in Canada)."

Sarbjit Kaur represented the Canada Truck Operators Association and said that the trucking industry has long relied on immigrants, including former international students who worked tirelessly during the pandemic despite risks. She said retirements and other factors have created a shortage of drivers and other workers in the sector.

"The trucking industry has really been built on immigrants; whether it was in the 70s, 80s, or 90s, and especially during the pandemic, we saw a lot of international students and immigrants working during a very difficult time when it was also dangerous," she highlighted.

"So, for the future of the industry, where we have so many people retiring and we need skilled workers, it's absolutely essential that these workers who are already working in our industry and may choose to work in this industry in the future have a pathway to work in Canada and become citizens."

The Canada Truck Operators Association is warning of a potential labour shortage in the trucking industry if thousands of skilled workers have to leave the country.

(Muhammad Hamza/The Pointer)

Trucking is a multi-billion-dollar sector that needs a consistent, long-term workforce to ensure vital supply chains that keep our healthcare system, food networks and other critically important services operate smoothly, she said. The abrupt loss of hundreds of thousands of skilled workers could significantly harm the economy. 

"[W]ithout the driver, there is no truck, there is no mechanic, there is no dispatch, there is no accounting. So, the spin-off jobs that come from the industry are an essential part of the economy. And whether the economy is a little bit slow today, it'll pick up tomorrow. But you cannot train workers, recruit workers, and onboard workers with an on-off attitude; you have to have a sustainable, stable, long-term workforce, and it will be a hit to the economy if hundreds of thousands of workers are suddenly not available."

Mehakdeep Singh, an international student graduate and member of a PGWP Committee that has been organized, highlighted four main requests to the federal government: an immediate extension of PGWPs set to expire in 2024 and 2025; a fair pathway to permanent residency (PR); the elimination of exploitation based on current labour market assessment rules that place immigrant workers in precarious situations without the same rights as Canadian workers; and a five-year PGWP for all international students enrolled in two-year programs at public colleges.

Mehakdeep Singh, an international student graduate, wants Ottawa to make it easier for skilled workers to stay in the country with proper employment protections.

(Muhammad Hamza/The Pointer)

Singh said the protesting graduates are employed in a range of sectors such as food processing, healthcare, IT, manufacturing, agriculture and transportation, all critical to the economy. 

"So international students are stabilizing the economy in every single sector, which is a very major role for the immigrants in this country." 

Singh criticized the federal government, immigration consultants and educational institutions for taking advantage of international students, pointing to difficult PR pathways and a badly mismanaged international student system that contributed to Ottawa’s knee-jerk response, which he said was ill-advised.

"We were exploited by the consultants, we were exploited by the colleges, we were exploited by the employers, and now the government is exploiting us," he told The Pointer.

"They are inviting more and more international students. In the last year, 2023, there were one million international students in this country, but the major stream to the PR was paused. So, this was a mistake made by the government."

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