Evidence of meeting #18 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was international.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
I'd like to turn quickly to the issue of international students. They've been left out of any support, and there have been tremendous hardships for them. I've been hearing that from my own community as well. Could I get a quick comment from each of you on that? Do you think international students should also get emergency support from the government in this pandemic?
We'll start with you, Mr. Gulliver.
Advocacy Commissioner, University of Ottawa Students’ Union
Yes, I absolutely agree, Ms. Kwan. We're very concerned about the situation of international students. We're currently waiting on the Canada student service grant eligibility criteria. We're very hopeful that, at the very minimum, they'll be eligible for that. We have lots of concerns on our end, absolutely, with regard to international students.
As an Individual
I agree. I would also say a word on the question of whether the student benefit should be the same as the CERB. In my experience, I think it was particularly frustrating for the students who were graduating into the pandemic. They had a job waiting for them that was then cancelled. They were denied the full CERB, because they had not lost a job that they were currently employed in; nonetheless, they did lose one.
I think that merits a second look. I understand the frustration.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Before we go to Mr. Faye on that last question, I'd like to bridge onto that. Many students are unpaid interns, and some had contracts lined up for prestigious internships. Those contracts got cancelled as a result of COVID. Now they're completely out of luck. They would have been on an unpaid internship. Even though they get a stipend for various allowances and so on, that does not count as income, and therefore they do not qualify for CERB or the student CERB. This has created tremendous hardship.
On that, do you think the government should also rethink the impact on interns to ensure that they get support during this pandemic?
As an Individual
I do. The way it was designed structurally, as I understand it, was that it was for people who were working and who lost a job, whereas I think what was trying to be expressed was that it was for people if they lost a job. For many students, the way the job market works, particularly for law school, is that they have a job that they have not yet begun. With the timing of the pandemic being right as they were about to graduate into the labour market, often with huge amounts of debt, they lost their jobs but didn't qualify. School wasn't over when this pandemic started really impacting the economy.
There's a lot of frustration on that end, which I understand. I do think the intent was for people whose employment was impacted by COVID-19. They are no longer students, and have lost the jobs they thought they had, but they are still only eligible for the lower student amount.
NDP
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Thanks, Ms. Kwan, and thank you, Ms. Bienvenu. We're out of time.
Mr. Vis, you have five minutes, please.
Conservative
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC
Thank you, Chair.
I'd like to thank all the witnesses for a great discussion this morning.
Really quickly, Ms. Bienvenu, with regard to your points about Internet access, do you believe Internet service is an essential service?
As an Individual
Absolutely. I believed it before the pandemic, and I believe it now.
Conservative
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC
Do you think it's equitable that first nations especially, and rural Canadians, have disproportionately worse Internet access than other Canadians?
Conservative
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC
Would access to Internet help alleviate poverty in rural Canada?
Conservative
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC
How do you think the Canadian economy would benefit overall if we provided stable and secure Internet to all Canadians?
As an Individual
A huge portion of the workforce is being left out of the knowledge base but also economic productivity. That's a loss for everyone.
Conservative
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC
Mr. Faye and Mr. Gulliver, would you be able to function as productive members of society without access to the Internet?
President, University of Ottawa Students’ Union
I don't think I would be, especially considering my meetings every day. I wouldn't be able to do that.
Advocacy Commissioner, University of Ottawa Students’ Union
Agreed. Absolutely not.
Conservative
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC
Thank you. I'm just making those points known. I represent over 30 indigenous communities, and for many of the young people in those communities, that's the reality they face. To Ms. Bienvenu's earlier points about the labour market, that is all very relevant, but as an MP who represents a riding of 22,000 square kilometres with many rural communities that can only be accessed by forest service roads, I can say that they find themselves in a very challenging position, not only normally but especially now, given the COVID-19 pandemic, so thank you for answering my questions on that.
Mr. Faye or Mr. Gulliver, regarding experiential learning and connecting students to the workforce, do you think the federal government could have done a better job of connecting students with work by simply providing direct funding to them through the CESB? Do you think we, as parliamentarians and the government, could have done a better job of incentivizing job-matching programs through the pandemic to help students?
Advocacy Commissioner, University of Ottawa Students’ Union
Certainly. I also think the reality is that there aren't many jobs in the market right now, so obviously it's extremely concerning.
It's always a challenge. It's actually quite systemic, and that will require a long time to address.
Conservative
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC
In light of many educational institutions planning on offering virtual courses come September, how does the student union at the University of Ottawa feel about the prospect of online learning this fall?
Advocacy Commissioner, University of Ottawa Students’ Union
It's quite challenging. Online learning has been thrust on us in a way that was completely unexpected. Obviously, the university is working overtime to make it work.
We are especially concerned about students who can't learn online, or as you correctly mentioned, don't have that Internet access. That's very worrisome, and we really want to ensure that there is additional tech support to allow these classes to run seamlessly, which they have not so far.