PNP applicants frozen: Opposition

Steven Myers asks whether Ottawa or P.E.I. shut down applications for business stream immigrants

Opposition MLA Steven Myers wants to know if the province has put a freeze on applicants from the beleaguered provincial nominee program after authorities uncovered a fraudulent immigration scheme centred around the Sherwood Inn and Motel in early May.

The member for GeorgetownSt. Peters brought the question to Economic Development and Tourism Minister Chris Palmer on Thursday afternoon.

“Why were there no business impact PNP files drawn in the month of May?” Myers asked Palmer.

Palmer did not initially deny that a freeze had been placed on the PNP applicants. He denied that there was a quota in place for new immigrants under the stream of the immigration program.

“As new applicants come into the system, we will evaluate those, and we will pick the very best,” Palmer said in response to Myers’ question.

The question arose after federal immigration authorities charged siblings Ping Zhong and her brother, Yi Zhong, in relation to a number of immigration applications.

The two siblings were owners of the Sherwood Inn and Motel, which was used as the permanent address of 363 PNP applicants. Another 205 immigration applicants had listed Ping Zhong’s home address as their home address.

“It seems really odd that the immigration process was flowing along smooth and then we find out that there’s a whole bunch of people staying at the Sherwood Motel that aren’t actually staying there and the whole thing comes to a crawling halt,” Myers said Thursday during question period.

“Who shut the program down in May? You or the federal government?”

Palmer said other streams of the provincial nominee program have continued this month.

“The business impact piece is a smaller part of our overall immigration program. We continue to invite those that can fill key labour gaps here in P.E.I.,” Palmer said.

According to the Office of Immigration, as of the May 17, 2018 draw, there were no invitations to apply from the PNP business impact category.

Twenty-two express entry candidates and 56 labour candidates were invited to apply.

Last month’s draw drew an invitation to apply from 17 business applicants.

During the same month, 77 labour and 75 express entry candidates were also invited to apply.