Students and their representatives are fighting back against Canada’s new two-year cap on international student visas, forming alliances with a new attestation process set to be implemented on March 31.

A provincial attestation letter will be required by all international students soon after that date as part of the new cap on international student visas announced earlier this year by the federal government.

The federal minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced in late January that Canada would impose a two-year cap on international students, reducing intake by 35 per cent in 2024.

Marc Miller cited reasons such as price gouging by some postsecondary institutions alongside concerns related to quality of education and student housing.

A follow-up on Feb. 5 stated: “International students make important contributions to Canada’s campuses, communities and economy; however, we have seen unsustainable growth in the International Student Program in recent years. These recently announced reforms will support sustainable population growth in Canada and improve system integrity, while helping to ensure that international students have a positive experience in Canada.”

In a conference call with journalists in early February, during which Miller discussed the recent changes, he spoke about underspending on postsecondary education by provincial governments and highlighted the huge disparity in tuition prices between international students and domestic students. Ontario, which has the lowest support for students per capita in the country, is set to announce a $1.2 billion injection into the sector. Many believe that is not enough.

In lieu of adequate provincial funding, “institutions have filled their coffers on the pocketbook of international students,” Miller said. “That is unregulated, obviously – the fees (they) spend can be $40,000 to $70,000 or $80,000. … That may sound standard in the U.S., it’s not the case in Canada.”

Miller said provinces need to make sure they are strengthening students’ chances at economic success and that the education some international students receive isn’t necessarily the way to do this — especially when it comes to closing the gap in worker shortages.

“I’ve said to the provinces I’m willing to work with them and be flexible if they can clearly demonstrate after graduation, there’s a job for this person in that field that isn’t like graduating from a phony business degree and then driving an Uber or slinging pizzas,” said Miller. “There’s dignity in all sorts of work. What I’m trying to say in all this is we have created an international student program that was not designed for that.”

The visa cap is strongly opposed by student representatives, including Carleton University Students Association vice-president, Emilia De Jesus Peixoto.

She was born in Portugal and immigrated to Canada as a child. She was co-ordinator with CUSA’s Racialized International Student Experience (RISE) program in 2022 before becoming CUSA’s full-time vice-president in May 2023.

I’ve said to the provinces I’m willing to work with them and be flexible if they can clearly demonstrate after graduation, there’s a job for this person in that field that isn’t like graduating from a phony business degree and then driving an Uber or slinging pizzas.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller

She said she has been meeting with grassroots organizations such as Make Housing Affordable, speaking to Ottawa chairperson Brandon Bay about moving forward with plans to combat student housing shortages.

She has also helped form the Ottawa Student Alliance that includes representatives from Carleton, Algonquin College, the University of Ottawa and St. Paul University.

Peixoto said the two-year cap is upsetting to her and many international students who — in some cases — planned to welcome siblings to join them at school in Canada. It has also uprooted their dreams of getting a better education and housing than they could have elsewhere.

 Peixoto argued that the cap is directed at certain groups of international students rather than others.

“If we were to look at where most international students are coming from, you’re going to have a lot of students from South Asia, but you’re also going to have a lot of students from West Africa. And you already know that these students, given the currency, their currency is going down in certain countries,” she said.

“You already know it takes so much more for them to come here, for their families to save, than maybe a student coming from France or (elsewhere in) Europe, or a student that’s coming from the U.S. So who are we prioritizing now with this cap?”

Peixoto said CUSA is working on a statement denouncing the two-year cap. Meanwhile, she’s working on a project to have Carleton’s international student counsellors to do drop-in sessions to provide information, emotional support and other help.

Requests for such services have been rising since the announcement of the cap. CUSA and other Carleton services are also partnering with  graduate psychology and social work students to help bolster counselling capacity.

Natalia Tola Maldonado, deputy chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, has advocating against the cap since it was announced in January.

She expressed concern that the measures curtailing the number of student visas will only increase xenophobia and racism towards international students.

Maldonado immigrated from Ecuador and said if she had been denied entry to Canada she would never have the future she has built during her time at University of King’s College in Halifax. She added that she grieves for all students who will lose their future. “Three hundred and fifty thousand students — you know, these are not numbers, these are not like a phantom, like statistics — these are hopes, these are dreams.”

International student fees amounted to more than lumber and aircraft and coal exports in Canada. That looks like a $21-billion contribution to Canada’s economy.

Natalia Tola Maldonado, deputy chairperson, Canadian Federation of Students

She argues the cap will disrupt immigration patterns and ultimately rob Canada of the economic growth that international students bring to Canada.

“International student fees amounted to more than lumber and aircraft and coal exports in Canada. That looks like a $21-billion contribution to Canada’s economy,” said  Maldonado.

Beginning Sept. 1,  some international students will no longer be eligible for a post-graduation work permit upon graduation. That could leave many international students in Canada who had been hoping to pursue Master’s and PhD studies in limbo.

“There’s new information coming out every week even on graduate students, and a lot of people who are graduating this year from undergrad were worried,” said Peixoto, “saying, can I get into my graduate program? Or do I need to apply for PR?” to become a Canadian permanent resident.

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