Evidence of meeting #114 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was students.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Ms. Alboim, I haven't asked you enough questions.
In your opinion, what will be the most significant impacts of the measures recently announced by Minister Miller?
Senior Policy Fellow, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, As an Individual
I'm going to answer in English, if you don't mind.
I talked about some of the impacts on reputation and public attitudes, the immediate financial impact on our institutions of reduced numbers of students and the impact on local communities and employers through labour markets and spending power in local communities.
I agree with the other witness who talked about having one blunt instrument for colleges, undergraduate programs and graduate programs. It doesn't really work. They serve very different purposes. There should be different approaches to those various levels of education. I think dealing with them all like this will have a negative impact on them all, because one size does not fit all in this particular circumstance.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Thank you very much. You're over seven minutes.
I'll go to MP Kwan.
Please go ahead.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for their excellent presentations.
What we're seeing is the federal government responding to the housing crisis that, frankly, successive Liberal and Conservative governments created. The first go-to is to blame outsiders. Who are they blaming? They blame international students, migrant workers, immigrants and on and on down the line. This kind of approach has unintended consequences, as both of you mentioned, and they can be very significant.
You also mentioned that the approach the government took was a blunt instrument to address this situation. There's a distinction between the public-private partnerships that have taken place and the escalation of the problems that came out. Instead of taking a specific approach to address that, the government took this other, broader approach with much broader implications.
My first question, for Ms. Alboim, is about unintended consequences. I wonder if you can speak about the students already here who will be impacted by this announcement and likely fall out of status. What do you think is the appropriate approach to address that issue? Should regularization for these students, who have invested their time and money in Canada, be recognized?
Senior Policy Fellow, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, As an Individual
Many of the students who are already in Canada will go home—many will go to third countries—but many of them want to stay, and the reduction in the permanent numbers, which were also announced in the levels plan, will have a very significant impact on students who are already here.
The provincial nominee programs have been reduced by 50%. Many of the provinces across the country had special streams that would allow international students to transition to permanent residency through PNPs. Other economic programs have also been reduced. Even if students qualify with high levels of points, there won't be enough spaces for them to transition to permanent residency because those numbers have been reduced quite significantly. That's a problem.
Even for the international students who are here now and aren't necessarily looking for permanent residency yet, or who haven't made up their mind or want to get some work experience before they go back to their home countries, the eligibility criteria for post-graduation work permits is being restricted. Many of them will not be able to continue to work, and they cannot get their PGWPs extended or renewed. The tightening on the TFW permits is also being restricted.
I think there is a possibility that many current international students will have no legal avenues to remain in Canada, and that will create a difficulty.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
To that end, the question is, should the government entertain a regularization scheme for people who are already here and who have already contributed? I'm going to park that question for you to think about, Ms. Alboim.
In the meantime, I'm going to Mr. Gaffield. Thank you so much for your testimony.
You indicated that universities have built-in systems to address the housing needs of international students. Back in the day—I came here from the provincial arena—there was a program whereby the province, the federal government and the universities or colleges—the institutions—would create housing in a partnership to address housing needs, not just for international students but for domestic students as well.
Would you support a call for the federal government to bring back a program that divides the funding in, let's say, a one-third split—one-third institution, one-third province, one-third federal government—and creates a plan for developing housing to meet the needs of both international students and domestic students?
Chief Executive Officer, U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities
Thank you very much for that question.
I have three quick points.
First of all, we totally support and recognize that students need housing. They need food security too, which is an issue. We must provide for our students. That is one of the reasons that our institutions have embarked on policies of modest growth and never excessive, too-rapid growth. It's to ensure they're able to keep pace.
Along the lines of what you're saying, there have been really ingenious and effective ways to try to do this. I know, for example, that some of our universities have bought hotels—sometimes in partnership—to provide extra space.
I'm not aware of the program that you speak of, but I do think that universities have been good in being open to that sort of program.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you. I have very little time left.
What I'm gathering is that you support a federal-provincial-institutional housing initiative to address student needs. That's what I'm hearing.
To go back to Ms. Alboim for the question about regularization—I'd like a quick, short answer—should regularization be considered as part of the approach to addressing the crisis the federal government has created?
Senior Policy Fellow, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, As an Individual
I have written about the need for a regularization program in Canada. I think it would be in the best interests of Canada to implement a regularization program for the many people who have been here and have fallen out of status as a result of all kinds of things, including changes to programs midstream after they have arrived. I would not suggest a regularization program purely for students. I would recognize a regularization program for which students would be eligible if they met the criteria for it.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Chair, before you adjourn, could I just make a broad request to the witnesses? Because we're always limited for time, if they have additional documentation or recommendations they wish to share with the committee, they can submit them. I'm particularly interested in unintended consequences and the implications of them, and what action the government should take to address them.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Thank you.
On behalf of the committee, thank you to the witnesses.
Thank you to the support staff, analysts, clerk and interpreters.
With that, the meeting is adjourned.