The Conservative Party of Canada has launched a petition to include Bangladesh in the Student Direct Stream (SDS) program to make it easier for students to get study permits and, thereby, visas.
Member of the Parliament Brad Redekopp, also chair of the Canada Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship Group, in a Twitter video, urged all Bangladeshi Canadians and students to sign the petition so that the new immigration minister got “a clear message that they must make a decision now.”
According to the party’s website, Bangladeshi students often face long wait times and low acceptance rates for study permits in Canada, impacting their ability to complete their studies.
Bangladeshi Canadians and students have called for the inclusion of Bangladesh into the SDS program, which students in other countries in the region have access to.
“The Conservative Party of Canada has staunchly advocated in the House of Commons for Bangladesh to be included in the SDS program. The government of Canada did start internal evaluations for Bangladesh’s inclusion into SDS and projected an answer for Fall 2022. Bangladeshi students have been waiting years for an answer on SDS.”
Through the petition, it wants the Canadian government to provide an update on the status of the evaluation of Bangladesh for the SDS program and take necessary actions to include Bangladesh in the program in “a timely manner.”
“For years Bangladeshi students in Canada have been asking to be included in the SDS,” Redekopp said, adding that Bangladesh was not part of this program despite having thousands of students attending Canadian schools.
“And as a result, Bangladesh students face long delays in getting visas and often miss their classes,” he said.
“As a conservative MP, I have been advocating in the parliament and in the immigration committee for the inclusion of Bangladesh in the SDS program for two years. Over a year ago, Former Minister for Immigration Sean Fraser promised an answer by the fall of 2022.
“The fall of 2022 has a long past. And there has not been a word about whether Bangladesh would be included in the program, despite many questions from me. Now there is a new immigration minister Marc Miller who will be making the final decision.
“But students waited for long enough, and the immigration minister needs to hear the voice of Bangladeshi students and Bangladeshi Canadians who have been pushing for an answer. That’s why I launched a petition. There’s a call on the immigration minister and the local government to decide and give an answer,” he said, asking all to sign the petition at https://www.conservative.ca/cpc/sds-for-bangladesh/.
“Let’s get SDS for Bangladesh.”
