Canada Calling: Indian students face joblessness, Toronto school board rules against caste bias, and a court victory for ex-MP Raj Grewal

Now from one crisis, international students are lurching towards another: joblessness. It’s no secret that a vast majority of students come to Canada to earn while they learn. They take up jobs to finance exorbitant fees and living expenses. While it’s not easy to land a job soon after arrival in the best of times – this latest batch has come at a time when Canada’s central bank has steadily been raising interest rates to induce a mild recession. Consequently, even months after arrival, many students are yet to find work.

“This is not what I’d imagined when I was leaving India for Canada,” says Sumit, who arrived in Canada in January to study Global Business Management in London, Ontario. It took him two months to find a job. “Still I count myself lucky to have finally found a part-time gig. Because there are many international students in my college who are trying left, right and center, but aren’t finding any jobs. This isn’t what agents tell you in India.”

Even in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), where there’s a thriving informal economy and cash jobs are usually plentiful, there’s been a dearth of work. “If you can’t find work in the GTA, you can’t work anywhere in Canada,” said another student.

Toronto school board passes motion against caste discrimination

Hot on the heels of Seattle’s decision to ban caste discrimination, Canada’s largest school board, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) , has taken a step towards the same goal. Late Wednesday night, the TDSB voted 16-5 to pass a motion asking the Ontario Human Rights Commission to “assess and provide a framework for addressing caste oppression” in public education.

Presenting the motion, school board trustee Yalini Rajakulasingam said, “This oppression impacts communities across Ontario. We have heard of numerous and grave cases of caste inequity.”

The TDSB has nearly 235,000 students – 22 percent of whom are South Asian. The motion said there are documented cases of caste-based discrimination in Toronto.

While there has been a pushback against the motion in the Indian community, many in the diaspora have welcomed the motion.

Harminder Dhillon, a Mississauga-based lawyer and community leader, said it was bound to happen after Seattle.

“Caste-based discrimination in the diaspora is real. These are simmering fault lines that the community has brought along from India. We can’t pretend that it doesn’t exist,” said Dhillon.

Ironically, he added, while caste lines might be blurring in India, they are sharp in the diaspora.

“Temples here are divided along regional lines. Even in the gurudwaras, which are not divided along caste lines, you won’t find a single Dalit in the management. In fact, it’s shocking to see that when international students come here from India, they put their stickers declaring their castes on their cars,” said Dhillon.

After Toronto, all eyes are now on the neighbouring Peel District School Board (PDSB). Peel, which covers Brampton and Mississauga, is home to over half-a-million South Asian population. If caste discrimination is an issue in Toronto’s schools – it’s likely an even bigger issue in the PDSB.

Ex-MP not guilty of giving lenders access to Trudeau during India visit

There was a modicum of vindication for a former Canadian lawmaker of Indian origin this week when an Ontario court acquitted him of taking money in exchange for providing access to the prime minister.

Raj Grewal was once a rising star of the Liberal Party of Canada. After getting elected to the Canadian parliament from Brampton East seat in 2015, the lawyer-turned politician sat on the influential finance committee in the first Justin Trudeau government. A ministerial berth seemed around the corner. But then the unraveling began. In 2018, it came to light that Grewal was addicted to gambling, before allegations surfaced that he had used his political office for personal gains.

Raj Grewal with Justin Trudeau. (Express Photo)

It was alleged that ahead of Trudeau’s 2018 visit to India, Grewal had taken a total of $400,000 dollars from two Brampton-based businessmen. The same businessmen were later invited by Grewal to a private meet-and-greet with Trudeau at a reception in New Delhi.

When the reports emerged, Grewal found himself out of the party, politics, and facing breach of trust charges.

In their testimony, the businessmen said they did give the money as loan to Grewal, but insisted it wasn’t in exchange for any favors. The loans were said to be taken by Grewal to settle some of his considerable gambling debt.

Four-and-a-half years after the charges were laid, the judge concluded on Friday that there wasn’t sufficient evidence against Grewal.

“Today the courts ruled in my favor, putting to rest a particularly challenging chapter of my life,” Grewal said after the judgment. “We have a strong, independent and competent judiciary. There is a presumption of innocence in the criminal justice system. But there is a resounding presumption of guilt in the court of public opinion. I have experienced this first hand over the last four-and-a-half years.”

Ritu Khullar recently became chief justice of the western Canadian province of Alberta. (Express Photo)

NEWSMAKER: Ritu Khullar recently became chief justice of the western Canadian province of Alberta. Khullar, who was born in Fort Vermillion, Alberta, to parents who migrated from India, is the first woman of South Asian origin to be appointed as a provincial chief justice.

(Daksh Panwar is an Ontario-based journalist and broadcaster. Twitter: @Daksh280)