The following story appeared in The Canadian Press newswire. The Nova Soctia PNP program was cancelled by that Province last year. It is a good example of what governments should NOT do: tampering with market forces, trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and disregarding free market economics.
Participants in failed N.S. immigration program tell stories to legislators
13 hours ago
HALIFAX - A dozen participants in Nova Scotia's failed immigration program told stories of disappointment and shattered expectations during a four-hour hearing Wednesday before a legislative committee.
After paying $130,000 each to enter Canada under the provincial nominee program, many said that they weren't matched with companies that suited their areas of expertise and they now want their money back as a matter of fairness.
The program, which was administered by Cornwallis Financial Corp., was scrapped by the Conservative government in 2006, setting off a series of lawsuits filed by the private firm that have yet to reach court.
The Office of Immigration decided in October to rebate $60 million in application fees to 600 immigrants who had yet to take part in the program. Another 200 were denied reimbursement because they had completed their mentorships with a company.
"All the nominees have immigrated to Nova Scotia through the same category, hence should be benefitted and treated equally and fairly," Vahid Kermanshah told the committee.
"The residency refund option is a good plan ... but should cover all nominees, particularly those who have been loyal to the government by settling down in this province."
Kermanshah, who is from Iran, said he was promised by his immigration agent and Cornwallis in January 2006 that, after the six-month mentorship, he would be matched with a job that suited his management background. He would also be offered assistance in settling in Halifax.
But he said he arrived last April to discover that Cornwallis was no longer in charge of the program and that there would be no settlement assistance.
Kermanshah finally signed a contract with the immigration office last July and was promised he would be mentored in wholesale, e-business, advertising and public relations with a fishing company in Shag Harbour, N.S.
He said he showed up for his first day of work to find that his job would be a lot less than promised.
"They had no such departments and were doing business in a traditional way with no valuable experience and knowledge in the areas I was supposed to be mentored in," Kermanshah said.
He said he wasn't even provided the most basic of facilities to do his job, even a desk or a computer. After trying to work from home he was eventually told not to come in and was paid in post-dated cheques, "half of which bounced."
Alireza Aghajan, a psychiatrist, told the committee he went so far as to arrange his own mentorship, but was told the position he had secured at Dalhousie University wasn't in keeping with the program's economic requirements.
Ahgajan said he ended up at a housing renovation company where he spent his time reading medical textbooks in order to collect his $20,000 salary.
Jamie Guerrero, former CEO of a 200-bed specialized care hospital in the Philippines, gave a more mixed review of the nominee program. He told the committee it was the fast-track nature of the program that attracted his family, but it was his command of English and the support provided by the local Filipino community that enabled him to network.
Guerrero eventually landed a mentorship with a high-end retirement home as a human resource manager, although the job was not exactly what he was looking for.
"While not all my original expectations of the program were met, I gained some valuable experience during my mentorship," said Guerrero.
But Guerrero admitted under questioning that he used the same community networking to eventually act as a broker to help other immigrants navigate the system, charging anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000 "depending on the client."
Guerrero and all who testified are in agreement that they shouldn't be penalized for simply following the rules and completing their mentorships.
Ken Friedman, who speaks on behalf of 72 nominees who want their money back, presented the committee with a proposal to pay back a portion of the $130,000 fee, using money and interest accumulated by forfeited fees.
Under the terms of the province's refund, people who did not go through a mentorship will get $100,000 back as long as they lived in Nova Scotia for 12 of their first 18 months after becoming landed. They also had to be living in the province when they applied for the refund.
Friedman said the irony is that many of those who forfeited their nominee fees did so because they didn't do anything for their mentorships or, in some cases, were simply looking to get landed in Canada and didn't even show up in Nova Scotia.
"Most of the people that completed their mentorships and stayed here are feeling a lot of anger, sadness, frustration and pain," said Friedman. "They feel that they came here under the same program and signed the same agreements as the nominees now eligible for the refund."
Elizabeth Mills, executive director of the Office of Immigration, said much would have to be sorted through before the province could even consider forfeiture payments.
Mills said the province doesn't yet know which nominees and how many have forfeited their $100,000 and is also dealing with four lawsuits that are pending from Cornwallis.
Among the suits is a claim of ownership for a portion of the interest earned from the trust fund set up to administer the program's fees.
"Right now the position of the province is that they are not eligible for a residency refund because the $100,000 they have paid in fees have been expended," said Mills.
"Whether that position is reconsidered, I really can't say because that would be a decision that government would have to make."
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