The federal government recently announced that in response to concerns surrounding the impact of increasing numbers of international students on the housing market, they will be placing a cap on student permits over the next two years.
It is in the hands of each individual province and territory to decide how permits are distributed among their respective universities. The number of permits to be distributed in 2025 will be reevaluated at the end of this year.
According to a recent CBC article, Marc Miller, the Minister of Immigration, stated that in some provinces the total cut to international student visas will be 50 percent.
Following this announcement, MUNFA and CFS have released statements in response to the impact this decision will have on international students moving forward.
MUNFA response
The headline of Memorial University’s Faculty Association’s (MUNFA) release reads “International Student Visa Cap will not Address Chronic Underfunding”
President Josh Lepawsky describes the recent announcement as further exemplifying the scapegoating of international students for the ongoing crisis for education, healthcare, and housing. He emphasizes the decision as “pinning blame on people who arrive in Canada as students—and who pay substantially higher tuition than others, pay all the same taxes as anyone else, and add to local economies by paying rent and purchasing daily needs, and yet who cannot vote—is a particularly cynical move by the government.”
CFS response
In a similar vein to MUNFA, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), affirms in their media release that “Migrant students should not be scapegoated for housing crisis.”
Mary Feltham, CSF-NL Chairperson, states “International Students are faced with exploitative, xenophobic, differential fees, as these students are often seen as cash cows to PSE Administration; an opportunity to cover their luxuries of custom chocolates and limousines, like we have seen from the Auditor General’s report. If there is a cap on International Students permitted to study here, I fear their already outrageous fees will be increased even further, pricing many out of their right to an education.”
Further asserting, “Differential fees for International Students are exploitative, and contributing to a xenophobic system where many International Students are forced to make the impossible decision between their right to an education and food,” said Shireen Merchant, CFS-NL International Students Rep. “Rather than limiting the number of International Students allowed to study in Canada, governments and administrators should be looking at strategies to reduce the cost of living and financial barriers placed on International Students to create a more fair and equitable system overall.”
According to the media release, “Students are calling Minister Marc Miller to find alternative, long-term solutions to our housing crisis, that does not place the blame on marginalized groups, and removes the cap on International Student acceptance to PSE.”
