International students are struggling. Can Ottawa’s review of the program help? – National | 24CA News
Amid a continued housing crunch and sky-high prices of residing, the federal authorities’s immigration targets and plans for worldwide college students are dealing with renewed scrutiny.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller mentioned in an interview with The Canadian Press that worldwide scholar enrolments might have to be adjusted whereas noting that the federal government has no plans to chop immigration numbers.
But what ought to any changes to the worldwide college students program seem like, and can they be sufficient to deal with calls from those that work with worldwide college students to guard them towards exploitation?
“There needs to be a cap on how much these institutions can charge from international students. We cannot be expected to pay 10 times the fees that domestic students pay,” mentioned Varun Khanna, president of the Montreal Youth Students Organization (MYSO).
Khanna mentioned college students are trapped in a cycle of working to repay their charges and paying their lease.
“It’s very common to see students live six to a room in cities like Brampton. That’s all they can afford on their meagre income,” he mentioned.
Bikram Singh, a member of the Brampton, Ont.-based advocacy group Naujawan Support Network, mentioned worldwide college students have little or no help as soon as they land in Canada.
“The only guidance some students get is from shady immigration consultants in India. When they land in Canada, they are overwhelmed,” Singh mentioned. “They need to have mandatory orientation for new students, which helps them navigate life in a new country and makes them aware of their rights.”
Khanna mentioned the federal government ought to completely elevate the 20-hours-a-week work restrict, as a result of the excessive price of residing and tuition is leaving many worldwide college students struggling.
“Those students who need to work will find ways to work. The only thing it will lead to is more exploitation of students, who will be paid below minimum wage for difficult work,” he mentioned.
Singh additionally mentioned the overwhelming majority of staff who fall prey to wage theft are college students.
“The 20-hour work limit was making the problem worse. Students were afraid to come forward because technically, they were not allowed to work for more than 20 hours,” he mentioned.
“So they were working on cash, below minimum wage. Students have started to come forward since the limit was lifted.”
Singh mentioned housing was a serious concern for college kids.
“If they (the Canadian government) want us here, if they want our labour to build this country, they should give us secure housing so we can live with dignity.”
In an announcement to Global News, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) mentioned the federal authorities was “undertaking a review” of the worldwide college students program after Miller advised The Canadian Press in an interview that he’s open to reconsidering worldwide scholar enrolments, significantly amid fraud issues.
The spokesperson mentioned they had been already in session with universities, schools and different stakeholders on how greatest to handle that circulation, however that might not imply chopping the variety of scholar visas being issued.
“IRCC does not establish levels/caps for study permits in the way we do for permanent residence programs through the multi-year levels plan,” IRCC spokesperson Jeffery MacDonald mentioned.
Housing for incoming worldwide college students can also be a serious concern within the consultations.
“The Department is currently undertaking a review of the program to examine how it can better select and retain students who can help Canada meet its economic, social and cultural goals,” MacDonald mentioned in an announcement.
“This includes meeting our broad immigration objectives, while also working closely with national educational institutions to address the ongoing challenges, including international student fraud and housing.”
According to Statistics Canada, the nation continues to face important labour shortages.
Between 34 and 36 per cent of all companies in Canada are anticipated to face challenges in recruiting expert labour. International college students working off campus have emerged as a key a part of Ottawa’s technique to fill these gaps.
The share of worldwide college students with paid employment revenue amongst complete paid staff grew from 0.1 per cent (21,800) in 2000 to 1.4 per cent (277,400) in 2018.
In November final yr, the federal authorities quickly lifted the restrict of 20 hours per week that worldwide college students had been allowed to work off campus.
The exemption will likely be up for renewal in December this yr.
MacDonald mentioned IRCC was additionally wanting on the impression the exemption was having on labour shortages in Canada.
In May this yr, a bunch of worldwide college students protested towards deportation orders issued towards them after they are saying they had been the victims of an enormous rip-off by an immigration guide.
According to the protesting college students, these dealing with deportation orders got here to Canada in 2017 and 2018 on scholar permits after they had been issued “fake college admission letters drafted by their immigration consultants, namely a Jalandhar-based consultant named Brijesh Mishra.”
The course of to guage lots of these instances stays underway.
