Arnold

Immigrants sue Ottawa, citing 'shattered lives'

Landmark lawsuit says gov't misled them on job picture



Jessica Leeder

The Edmonton Journal





Wednesday, October 22, 2003



Rick MacWilliam, The Journal / Unable to find suitable work since
emigrating from Britain, accountant Selladurai Premakumaran, shown
holding daughter Hesalya, shares a two-bedroom basement with his family,
11-year-old son Aran, left, six-year-old daughter Jassmine, wife
Nesamalar and 15-year-old son Danny.



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EDMONTON - By trade, Selladurai Premakumaran is a professional
number cruncher.



Since he immigrated to Canada in 1998, he's done nothing but
calculations. Mostly, the U.K.-schooled accountant has been trying to
figure out how to recover the $60,000 it cost his family to relocate,
how to pay off a $100,000 credit-card debt, why his two professional
degrees can't get him a job and how a growing family of six can survive
in a two-bedroom apartment.



The courts, he hopes, will have his answer.



Premakumaran -- Prem -- and his wife Nesamalar have launched a $225,000
lawsuit against the federal government, alleging they were misled by
Canadian immigration officials who assured them they'd have no trouble
finding professional jobs to support their family in Canada.



The lawsuit is likely one of the first of its kind, says a University of
Toronto law professor.



The couple -- Prem is a native of Sri Lanka and Nesa is from Malaysia --
spent 22 years in Britain before learning that their fluency in English,
along with their education and professional credentials, made them
eligible to live and work in Canada.



But since their arrival, neither Prem, a former accountant and
lecturer, nor his wife, a former bookkeeper, has been able to use their
training. The formerly middle-class family has been forced to clean
toilets, shovel snow and borrow money from their 15-year-old son to pay
the bills.



"When we were thinking of coming to Canada they said they wanted
professional immigrants to help build up your economy," he said in an
interview in the family's $700-a-month basement apartment in a dingy
neighbourhood in west Edmonton. "But we are wasting our time.



"What angers me is we are capable people," he said. "We have the
credentials. But we can't get jobs.



"We can't give anything to our kids. What (the federal government)
has done is shattered our hope and our life. They have to compensate
us somehow."



In his statement of claim, Prem alleges the government owes him for
"mental agony, financial loss ... loss of jobs and thereby loss of
earnings for the past four years."



He is also suing for health problems he says he and his wife have
incurred as a result of their lives in Canada, including irritable skin
conditions, high blood pressure and sleeping difficulties.



When they first arrived, Prem spent nine months looking for a job in
Toronto. "They said I needed Canadian work experience. To me, if you
work in accounting in the U.K., you can do it here."



Eventually, Prem moved to Edmonton in hopes he would have more luck
finding work. Out of desperation, he began stocking shelves at Wal-Mart,
then later found a job shovelling snow.



Subsequent jobs at Zellers, a cleaning firm, a hotel and a stint on
employment insurance have helped the couple get by, but like many others
in similar situations, they became quickly demoralized.



"This scenario is very common," said Audrey Macklin, a professor of law
at the University of Toronto.



"People are encouraged as immigrants to come to Canada on the strength
of their education, experience and job skills. Then they get here and
find that these skills have no value to those who would actually
employ them."



"Brainwaste" is the term Macklin uses to describe the trend.



"We skim the cream off the top of other countries to get the best we can
and we do very little to ensure their skills are put to good use in
Canada," she said. "We end up with the most overqualified cab drivers,
pizza deliverymen and caretakers in the world."



Susan Scarlett, a spokeswoman for the Department of Citizenship and
Immigration, declined to comment on the lawsuit, which is not scheduled
to go to court until 2005. The couple are representing themselves.



"Guarantees are just not generally made with regards to how successful
someone will be when they come to Canada," said Peter Carver, a law
professor at the University of Alberta.



According to Jane Cullingworth, project co-ordinator of PROMPT, an Ontario-
based network of professional immigrant lobbyists, immigrants'
expectations for their new lives in Canada are often misguided.



"Canada is represented as a very good society where you can make a good
living," Cullingworth said.



"But there really isn't any national strategy that is specifically
dedicated to helping skilled immigrants get into the labour market."



Last year, more than half of the 229,058 immigrants admitted into Canada
were professional and skilled workers. Of those, more than 77,000 had
university degrees, including 17,000 with master's degrees and 3,000
with doctorates.



"A lot of professional people have a hard time finding good positions
here," said Maria Jagiello, director of community services at Edmonton's
Mennonite Centre for Newcomers.



"It often involves many years of upgrading and passing exams all over
again," she said.



Nesa says finding work is a constant, uphill battle.



"In my culture a nose stud shows prosperity," she says, fingering the
gold ball on her right nostril. Interviewers often ask her to remove it.



"I'm surprised that in a country that calls itself multicultural I'm
asked to alter my cultural symbols to get a job."







Are you an immigrant who can't find work in your chosen profession, and
do you feel misled by immigration authorities? Or do you know someone
who has had a similar experience?



E-mail us at .



© Copyright 2003 Edmonton Journal

Crazycanuck

    > ... declined to comment on the lawsuit, which is

    > not scheduled to go to court until 2005.



This is sad. I hope this couple don't put their lives on hold until
2005, since they are sure to lose their case.



If I were in his shoes, I'd study for a CGA (Certified General
Accountant) designation, and search for some simple bookkeeping work.
The CGA and bookkeeping experience, with his UK experience, could then
be parlayed into something more rewarding.



I don't know the gentleman, but the impression I form from his lawsuit
is that he could be somewhat argumentative or inflexible in mindset. If
an interviewer forms the same type of impression, then that would go a
long way to explaining his current predicament.



I do wish him well, but not through the courts.

Borg

But serously, what really happens to those newcomers ? they really clean toilets and drive cabs having PhD ?

/borg.

R Vijay

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 15:15:45 +0000
Arnold <member@british_expats.com> wrote:

    >
    > Immigrants sue Ottawa, citing 'shattered lives'
    >
    > Landmark lawsuit says gov't misled them on job picture


Link to Original Article:
http://tinyurl.com/sg54

Robert

Yawn !

"R Vijay" <> wrote in message
news:...
    > On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 15:15:45 +0000
    > Arnold <member@british_expats.com> wrote:
    > >
    > > Immigrants sue Ottawa, citing 'shattered lives'
    > >
    > > Landmark lawsuit says gov't misled them on job picture
    > Link to Original Article:
    > http://tinyurl.com/sg54

Allrosario

Nobody is forced into immigrating to Canada. So if the going is tough
then get the hell out of here.

Defender

I think I would feel hard done by if the Government was providing
reassurances that there is plenty of work when there isn't. Sod that !
"allrosario" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:...
    > Nobody is forced into immigrating to Canada. So if the going is tough
    > then get the hell out of here.
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Mj32

For my 2 cents worth,



Well they moved there to make a better life - presumably for the kids
as much as themselves! What is wrong with doing what ever it takes?



Seems to me too many people think the world owes em a living - rather
than getting on and doing it for themselves!



I spent 2 years doing part time work and shit minimum wage jobs at
weekends and evenings and studying during the days in order to get
the qualifications i wanted and start a business doing something i
wanted to do!



At no point did i think - f**k it ill take the UK to court!!



Just pisses me off reading about lazy ****ers like that

gee

On Fri, 24 Oct 2003 18:53:08 -0400, borg <> wrote:

    >But serously, what really happens to those newcomers ? they really clean toilets and drive cabs having PhD ?
    >/borg.

Yes most do or end up in a sweet shop making clothing industry.

Hope you enjoy your stay in Canada

gee

On Sun, 26 Oct 2003 16:36:38 -0500, R Vijay <>
wrote:

    >On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 15:15:45 +0000
    >Arnold <member@british_expats.com> wrote:
    >>
    >> Immigrants sue Ottawa, citing 'shattered lives'
    >>
    >> Landmark lawsuit says gov't misled them on job picture
    >Link to Original Article:
    >http://tinyurl.com/sg54


Canada need a new law for Immigrants.

"If they can not maintain full employment for 3 years they should be
deported. No welfare, no free food banks. Support yourself or get
you.