Feds unfairly targeting newcomers with new study visa cap: advocates
Posted January 22, 2024 4:53 pm.
A group advocating for the rights of migrant workers and international students says the federal cap on study visas unfairly blames newcomers for economic impacts that are far out of their control.
On Monday, the federal government announced a two-year cap on international student admissions. Immigration Minister Marc Miller said he hopes the cap will give the federal and provincial governments time to curb a system he says is taking advantage of high international student tuition while providing, in some cases, a poor education.
However, Migrant Worker Alliance for Change says the federal government would be better off targeting shady schools, adding international students are instead being used as scapegoats at a time when they too are navigating a cost of living crisis.
“What this isn’t going to do is fix the failures of the get-rich institutions, which the minister himself has called ‘puppy mills.’ Instead, it is going to punish international students who are going to have to be locked into more exploitative conditions of indentureship, trying to find a way to stay after graduating studies,” said Sarom Rho, an organizer with the group.
“There needs to be a single system in which, if a school is eligible for a study permit, it should also be eligible for a post-graduate work permit. That’s just the logical thing to do. And if a school is not good enough for a post-graduate work permit, then it means that it doesn’t meet the standards, it has to be shut down.”
The cap will mean a 35 per cent overall reduction in new study visas this year, though some provinces will see a reduction of 50 per cent or more.
Miller says the government will also bar students in schools that follow a private-public model from accessing postgraduate work permits as of Sept. 1. Meanwhile, in a few weeks, open work permits will only be available for the spouses of students enrolled in masters and doctoral programs, as well as professional programs such as medicine and law.
“Today’s announcement is one that punishes and shuts out international students and working-class families,” Rho told CityNews.
“We’re calling on the federal government to immediately reverse the decision to deny families work permits in addition to the two-year cap on international student permits, which is actually wrongfully blaming international students for the runaway costs that we’re experiencing.”
Rho says the whole ordeal has been “an emotional rollercoaster for international students,” adding, “that’s not fair.”
“We don’t need this Amazon-style, just-in-time set of policy changes, we need predictability, transparency, and stability. We need fairness for all current and former international students,” Rho said.
She explains the new rules bow to anti-immigration sentiments that unfairly scapegoat international students as causing major pressures on the housing system and on the affordability crisis.
However, Rho says students are placed in precarious positions themselves and more often than not are among the victims of those crises.
