Restaurant owner at Ottawa says that alignment to immigration goals is lacking.

Six years ago Mohinde Jit Singh saw an opportunity in southeastern New Brunswick and grabbed it by moving from Toronto to Moncton with a mission of establishing an Indian restaurant.

He said that the decision was a big one for him at that time.

That was six years ago after which the restaurant named TajMahal Flavour of India has become a favorite in the downturn of the city.

Singh says that the journey hasn’t been smooth and he faced many challenges, with some of the biggest ones coming from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The proud and successful owner of the restaurant says that he always needed traditional cooks in the kitchen as that is the most important thing. He explained that traditional cooking is not like flipping burgers, it’s different and one can recognize that traditional difference in taste.

He said that though he tried hard, he wasn’t able to find anyone in Canada open to learning this. He even tried posting advertisements in newspapers in large centers with no success. Now the only option left in front of him is bringing immigrants, but to his disbelief and anger, applications of five applicants he hired for the work have been rejected.

He said that the applicants are being continuously told by the immigration officers that they are not satisfied they will willingly move out of the country after completion of their term. He said that New Brunswick is trying to bring in new immigrants and he is doing exactly that.

Singh said that he has incurred huge expenses in the process of attracting these immigrants, as he had to travel internationally and interview in search of potential candidates.

An angry Singh said that he is just trying to establish himself in the province and at the same time, he is also creating jobs for others. He questioned whether the federal department is helping the province in fulfilling its goals.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which is the center for all the decisions regarding immigration, did not comment on the issue.

Population Growth Secretariat of New Brunswick, Greg Byrne, who holds the belief that one of the best strategies to increase the population of the province is immigration, said that the top priority of the province is to attract and retain immigrants.

Though he did not comment on the specific issue, he said that the province is in constant touch with the federal government.