Among changes made to federal policies for foreign workers, the allowance for what has come to be commonly known as 'Flagpoling' to renew a work permit appears to be coming to an end. Portage la Prairie is temporary home to such workers who are now facing this dilemma
Portage Learning and Literacy Centre's Miriam Ghitale explains that this refers to leaving Canada to cross the U.S. border, applying to renew their permit, and immediately returning to work here.
"They exit Canada, go to the U.S. side, and they would say, 'This is what I'm doing.' Then, they would go back to Canada. They would re-enter Canada and get their work permit that way. It was enough of a barrier that it was effective, but we heard that they no longer want to issue work permits at the border because of the number of people coming through; it's slowing things down. What this is going to mean is that people getting a new work permit may have to go back to their country of residence and then come back, which is fairly devastating for some people just because of the cost. Depending on the community that they come from, sometimes the whole family or community is sending them out to Canada. It’s quite difficult and quite an adjustment."
She explains this change was made suddenly without much warning. Ghitale says that if people had not already applied and were making plans to do so in a few days, everything has now changed.
"We had a couple of people who were ready to apply for their work permit on the day the announcement came out, and now they have to look at other options. They have to look at leaving the country. So, it’s a big shock for some people. It would have been nice to have a bit of a warning."
Given the negative aspects they’re trying to address, she adds, it’s understandable. However, on an individual basis, it’s very difficult for some.