Thank you for inviting me, and good afternoon, everybody.
I will focus today on some unintended impacts of the changes to the international student program, on the importance of federal-provincial collaboration and on how to ensure the long-term sustainability and success of the program.
First, regarding unintended impacts, Canada's reputation as a consistent, predictable provider of excellent education opportunities for international students has been hurt and will need to be addressed. Many international students are choosing to go elsewhere, as evidenced by post-secondary institutions receiving fewer applications than even their reduced allocations allow. Canada's rationale for cutting back on both permanent and temporary immigration could feed into anti-immigrant sentiment, unfairly blaming migrants and immigrants for housing shortages, access to health care and other systemic problems.
Reductions in international students create an immediate financial impact on educational institutions, local communities and employers. Some will adapt, but others will not. This will affect the domestic population. Restricting access to post-graduation and spousal work permits will discourage mature student applicants and limit their labour market participation. Reductions of 60% in federal economic programs and 50% in provincial pathways to permanent residence will have a significant impact on both current and prospective students interested in applying to Canada and staying here. The trend to tie study and work permits to current Canadian labour market needs may make Canada a less attractive place to study and may not be in Canada's best interests since labour market needs change rapidly.
Second, regarding federal-provincial collaboration, the imposition of caps is an example of a change that lacked meaningful provincial involvement. I agree that some numerical limits were necessary. The international student program had become completely demand-driven, with few controls or oversights by either level of government. However, the cap is a blunt instrument imposed unilaterally by the federal government, despite it sharing responsibility for immigration with provincial jurisdiction. The cap was not based on evidence of specific problems. It appears that the IRCC determined an arbitrary percentage reduction of 35% and worked from there, painting all provinces and post-secondary institutions, whatever their level or reputation, with the same brush. The federal formula for provincial allocations was complicated and not very transparent.
I recommend a bottom-up approach in which each province rolls up data based on defined criteria for institutional capacity, outcomes and compliance, and then proposes and negotiates its allocation with the federal government. I also recommend the joint development of principles for the allocation of permits to educational institutions within provinces, ideally incorporating criteria for the proposed recognized institution framework.
The proposal to develop a recognized institution framework is an excellent opportunity for federal-provincial collaboration that jointly determines what is expected of post-secondary institutions in relation to the international student program, over and above being a provincially designated learning institution, or DLI; what the benefits would be for those recognized; and the impact of non-recognition. The framework could require institutions to demonstrate, for example, excellence in integrated education programs for domestic and international students; collaboration with the settlement sector; provision of housing; use of co-op, internship and exposure to employer programs; training, monitoring and delisting overseas recruiters; and outcome and satisfaction data by institution comparing domestic and international students. Once the framework has been jointly developed, provinces would be responsible for implementing and monitoring it. The criteria could potentially be expanded to all DLIs wanting to accept international students.
Finally, there is sustainability and success. Long-term sustainability and success will depend on a variety of factors, such as strong federal-provincial collaboration, including the joint development of objectives and planning to achieve them; a focus on excellent education and services to ensure student success; high-quality recruitment and selection processes of students from diverse countries, with high entrance requirements and accurate pre-arrival information; stable and sufficient funding for post-secondary institutions; and streamlined pathways to post-graduation work permits and permanent residence for those who excel and want to stay.
Going forward, Canada's education strategy for 2019 to 2024 is expiring this year. It is the perfect time for the federal government and provinces to jointly develop the objectives of the international student program for the next five years and to plan to implement them collaboratively.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.