Immigration Minister Marc Miller is predicted to stipulate a plan immediately to cut back the variety of worldwide college students issued permits to check in Canada.
The transfer comes because the federal cupboard is within the midst of a three-day retreat in Montreal making ready for the upcoming sitting of Parliament.
It additionally comes 5 months after the final cupboard retreat in Charlottetown the place Miller and Housing Minister Sean Fraser started floating the thought of capping worldwide pupil visas.
Miller has promised a number of instances in current months to search out options to an inflow of worldwide college students which he has acknowledged is contributing to a expensive housing scarcity throughout the nation.
Greater than 800,000 worldwide college students had been issued short-term examine visas in 2022, and Miller mentioned final fall the numbers had been monitoring to hit 900,000 in 2023.
That’s greater than triple the quantity simply 10 years in the past.
It’s a hike Miller blames partially on unscrupulous faculties bringing over college students as a income with little regard for offering a stable training or making certain their well-being whereas in Canada.
That features housing, with many experiences in recent times of worldwide college students being unable to search out protected and safe housing.
Miller warned provinces within the fall that they wanted to crack down on abuse and fraud within the system or Ottawa would impose limits on the variety of pupil visas it points.
“There are, in provinces, the diploma equal of pet mills which are simply churning out diplomas, and this isn’t a official pupil expertise,” Miller mentioned at a information convention in December.
“There may be fraud and abuse and it wants to finish.”
At that press convention he introduced a plan to extend the sum of money overseas college students should present they’ve entry to in an effort to obtain a visa. This 12 months visas will solely be issued to college students who can present they’ve $20,635, up from $10,000 final 12 months.
The transfer was meant to make sure college students had been extra clear about how a lot cash they would want to dwell in Canada whereas they went to high school. Some experiences have indicated college students arriving with out sufficient cash have been susceptible to exploitation.
However he has additionally been warning provinces for months that they wanted to do one thing about faculties that they had accredited for worldwide college students, which aren’t offering the anticipated training.
Ottawa points the visas however management over which faculties get accredited to confess worldwide college students lies with the provinces.
Miller has mentioned the system in place has led to abuse and fraud notably as faculties got here to rely closely on the upper tuition charges paid by worldwide college students as provinces froze or in the reduction of their funding.
He mentioned in December it could be incorrect accountable worldwide college students for Canada’s housing scarcity however on the similar time, faculties which admit extra college students than they know can discover housing is unethical.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press
