Alberta Premier Danielle Smith reacted to the ongoing protest of the Indian students of Portage College who have been denied a post-graduation work permit and said if their student visas have expired and no work permit, then they have to leave. "Our view is that if you come here as an international student and your visa expires and you don't have permanent residency, you need to go home," said Smith at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
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Smith stopped short of blaming Portage for the situation and said she won't call Portage a diploma mill. "There have been instances where unscrupulous operators have set up diploma-granting programs and taking advantage of students," Smith said to a question from Juno News. "I think perhaps Portage, maybe overstated the pathway to permanent residency."
If those students have the skills we need, then we are best positioned to offer them permanent residency. At the moment, we only have 6,400 spots. I think we've got 40,000 people who have sought permanent residency from us, and so that's why I think we need a bit of a better balance," Smith said.
