The article below came from an Indo Guyanese, Roop Misir, who is a member of the Indian Caribbean Group on the internet

South Asian and other recent immigrants to Canada are becoming increasingly frustrated about their job prospects in the foreseeable future. For years, highly qualified professionals have been unable to obtain suitable employment in their respective fields of specialization. Now some of them are getting a bit upset and are taking unusual action.

Consider the recent case of Mr. Selladurai (Prem) Premakumaran, a native of Sri Lanka,  and his Malaysian-bom wife Nesamalar. According to articles in the Globe and Mail (October 23 and 25 2003), this couple who currently resides in Edmonton, Alberta emigrated in 1998 from Britain where they lived for 22 years. Since their arrival, they spent futile searches to find suitable employment. Their frustration has since boiled over to the point where the British-trained accountant and his bookkeeper wife have launched a lawsuit against the Federal government. They alleged that they were misled by Canadian officials who assured them they would have no trouble finding professional jobs in Canada. But the fact of the matter is that they had not been able to obtain jobs that utilize their skills and training.

Instead, this formerly middle-class family of six has had to contend with living in a cramped two-bedroom basement apartment. To eke out a meager existence, the parents have had to clean toilets, shovel snow and borrow money from their 15­year-old son.

In an interview, Mr. Premakumaran said: "When we were thinking of coming to Canada, they (immigration officials, presumably) said that they wanted professional immigrants to help build up your economy." He added: "But we are wasting our time."

In parts of Canada, the plight of recent immigrants to get job placements commensurate with their professional training often come up for discussion, especially during election campaigns in constituencies with large "ethnic" immigrant voting populations.

However soon afterwards, the immigrants and their job search dilemma are quickly forgotten. And true, while some disenchanted immigrants have returned to their home countries, most choose to stay in Canada where they seem to resign themselves to leading lives very different from what they have grown accustomed to in their former countries of domicile. Thus as Pakistani doctors deliver pizzas rather than babies, Indian high-tech engineers drive taxi-cabs, Sri Lankan accountants clean toilets, and Guyanese security officers pass the time away as night watchmen, it becomes apparent that their dream for a better life in Canadian remains elusive. Yes, some immigrants often wonder whether this professional indignity is the price they must pay in order to give their children a better life in their new country? Maybe, their Canadian-born and educated children may not have to experience some of the difficulties they currently encounter?

Recently, mainstream Canadians seem to take notice of the plight of trained foreign professionals. For example, University of Toronto Law Professor Audrey Macklin, calls the phenomenon "brain waste". She declared: "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." And furthermore: "We end up with the most overqualified cab drivers, pizza deliverymen and caretakers in the world." But to most immigrants, what seems truly amazing is what is the deafening silence of professional bodies and the educational industry/institutions. Are immigrant workers entitled to the same jobs as Canadian citizens?

From time to time, we hear of plans being put in place to offer upgrading training courses to recent immigrant professionals at local educational institutions to meet Canadian requirements. However to date, there hasn't been a coordinated effort to address this issue.

Some of the difficulties faced by immigrants looking for work in Canada may be related to the fact mainstream Canadians view immigrants from South Asia and other "developing" regions merely as "workers"-in much the same way as in the 1960s when Canada first opened its door to foreign immigrant workers. However, one difference today is that we now live in a high-tech, brain-oriented environment.

Through reading and having discussions with recent immigrants, it seems clear that some Canadian employers have no problems offering new immigrants jobs. However, others seem to think that should immigrants be allowed to compete freely with Canadian citizens for 'white collar' and other executive-type jobs, then someday these jobs will soon be dominated by immigrants? Or so it seems. But are such fears warranted? I suppose only time will tell whether this will ever become the norm in this country.

With globalization and the free movement of humans, capital and cargo, some immigrants in dire straits now wonder whether the offer of Canadian immigrant visas to 'cream of the crop' professionals in poor developing countries may not be contributing to the growing "brain drain" in their former countries? When considered globally, aren't the total numbers of immigrant visas offered by rich countries every year accelerating the exodus of the very people whose skills are needed for their nations' development. If this line of thought seem reasonable, can we say therefore that "globalized capitalism" may unwittingly be contributing to keeping countries perpetually poor and in a state of permanent dependency on the West for handouts?

Back to the main story. In his statement of claim, Mr. Premakumaran alleges that the government owes him for "mental agony, financial loss ... loss of jobs and thereby loss of earnings for the past four years."

The question as to whether mainstream Canadian employers should offer jobs to the most qualified person needs to be clearly spelled out by the Courts.

Also, what needs to be addressed is whether immigration officials are under pressure to meet annual immigration quotas. In this case, are over-zealous officials knowingly making empty promises of jobs, jobs, jobs to highly qualified professionals who are then left to fend for themselves upon arrival into Canada?

As Canadians watch how this episode will unfold, we may wish to thank the Premakumarans for initiating action to correct a blemish that seem to plague Canada's quest to attract the brightest and the best from around the world.

Roop Misir, PhD Toronto rmisir2000@yahoo.com