Post-secondary instructors rally in Vancouver against federal cap on international students

Dozens of post-secondary instructors and staff gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery Friday to protest the federal government’s cap on international student enrolment.

The rally, organized by instructors from Vancouver Community College (VCC) and other institutions across Metro Vancouver, is a response to the widespread job losses and program closures caused by the restrictions.

The cap on international students is part of an effort to curb housing and healthcare pressures in Canada.

However, the unintended consequence has been severe budget shortfalls for many post-secondary institutions, which have come to rely heavily on international student tuition fees to balance their budgets.

Taryn Thompson, vice-president of the VCC Faculty Association, voiced her frustration at the rally, explaining that the cuts have led to layoffs of over 60 staff members at VCC alone, with more expected in the coming months.

Several other colleges, including Langara, Capilano, and Douglas, are also facing similar challenges.

“This is the biggest funding crisis to hit our sector in my lifetime,” said Thompson.

“Several years ago institutions were encouraged to bring in international students to make this a source of revenue…and so this funding source, we relied on it.”

Thompson says the financial burden on smaller institutions like VCC is overwhelming.

“We’re not like UBC, with big coffers. You know, we just barely balance our budgets.”

For faculty members like Nahid Ghani, who has taught at VCC for over seven years, the impact has been deeply personal. Ghani is one of the instructors who received a layoff notice.

“The federal government created this problem,” she said. “There’s little hope for any improvement.”

Friday’s rally was a call for both provincial and federal governments to step in with emergency funding to give schools time to develop a sustainable plan.

“We need time to adjust, and you can’t set up institutions to rely on a funding source and then yank it away without any warning, and that’s what’s happened,” Thompson explained.

As the cuts continue to mount, the future of post-secondary education in Metro Vancouver remains uncertain.

Without intervention, some like Thompson fear that the sector may not be able to recover from the sweeping changes that have been imposed without consultation or a clear roadmap.

1130 NewsRadio has reached out to B.C.’s Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills for comment.