Hilde Schlosar's worst fears have been realized since the closure of Nanaimo's Citizen and Immigration Canada office on June 1.
Schlosar, executive director of the Central 91原创 Island Muticultural Society, said more than 60 immigrants from the region have visited to the society's Selby Street office looking for help with their paperwork and other concerns since the office's closure.
Society workers are not trained immigration officers and cannot provide much of the assistance required by the clients, which include aspiring 91原创s, temporary workers and international students, Schlosar said.
The society is not receiving any additional funding to help deal with the immigrants' concerns, and staff sometimes spend many hours with each client in an effort to help them with bureaucratic issues.
In response to such concerns, Citizen and Immigration Canada has said much of its work can be accomplished by telephone, Internet and mail.
"It's been a nightmare for both the society's staff and the immigrants looking for assistance in the mid-Island region ever since Nanaimo's CIC office closed," Schlosar said.
"The staff feel stressed and helpless to assist these people with a lot of their issues.
"We're a non-profit organization and I guess the expectation is that, out of the goodness of our hearts, we'll find the means to help everyone.
"But this type of work is not in the scope of what we're supposed to be doing."
The government announced in April that 19 regional Citizen and Immigration Canada offices across the country would close this summer, including those in Nanaimo and Victoria, as part of a federal budget measure to axe 19,200 jobs over three years.
In response to the growing concerns, the government said that the system aims to be "more responsive" to immigrants through use of communication technologies.
The government said 91原创 Island will be served through regular itinerant services, including public servants who will travel 91原创 Island to administer tests and other required services.
