Thank you, Chair.
I want to take my turn to welcome the team, particularly Dr. Harpreet Kochhar, who is the new deputy minister for this department. It is his first time in committee with me.
I want to begin by acknowledging our presence on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
I’m glad to be back at this committee, twice this month, to discuss reforms to the international student program, as well as international student fraud and an update on the task force. Several of you have already asked questions about those issues.
In recent years, we have seen dramatic increases in the number of international students who are arriving and hopefully studying in Canada.
Some institutions have significantly increased the number of international students they receive to boost revenues without providing students with the resources and support they need.
This has rendered international students vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. We must have safeguards in place to protect newcomers while maintaining system integrity. That’s why we’ve introduced reforms to the program to improve system integrity, support international students in Canada and better protect them from exploitation.
As of December 2023, we've established a mandatory letter of acceptance verification system for all post-secondary institutions to help protect students and institutions from fraud. We've also launched a task force to identify genuine international students who are victims of schemes around fraudulent letters of admissions, which we have seen as well.
In January, we increased the financial requirements for international students to $20,635. This measure will ensure that students are financially prepared for life in Canada and consequently less vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
While this was a necessary step to ensure international students can support themselves, we understand that increasing the financial requirements may have a disproportionate effect on students from low-income and francophone countries. We’re working on two pilot projects to mitigate that impact.
Additionally, international students at private institutions that have curriculum licensing arrangements with public institutions will no longer be eligible for a work permit upon graduation. Public-private partnerships are notorious for lacking oversight, and as such do not provide the quality of academic experience that Canada is and should be renowned for.
Not only do many of these institutions fail international students, they also jeopardize the reputation of Canada and its designated learning institutions as global leaders in education.
These measures will safeguard international students, bolster program integrity and maintain Canada’s competitive edge in recruiting top talent.
International students make large financial and personal investments to come to Canada—their families do as well—and many intend to stay here as permanent residents on a path to citizenship. That is not always guaranteed, nor is it the point of the program.
This is the crux of the program; we want and need these students to stay in Canada and fill our labour gaps. However, unbridled growth has led to unprecedented numbers of international students in Canada. This jeopardizes the pathway to citizenship they expect.
That’s why, in addition to these reforms, we’ve introduced a two-year cap on new study permits. Provinces and territories remain responsible for post-secondary education. They allocate and will allocate cap spaces to their designated learning institutions, which they can and should regulate.
Students here for graduate degrees and PhDs, as well as primary and secondary students, are exempt from these measures.
To keep the intent of these reforms beyond the cap, we’re developing a recognized institutions framework, which we worked on with partners for a long time, thanks to the initiative of my predecessor, Sean Fraser, and which we’ll adopt in the coming months.
Many institutions have not only promoted unsustainable growth but also have accepted students without the ability to provide proper supports, including housing, along with, at times, unethical recruiting practices. By penalizing the bad actors and rewarding the good ones, this framework will and should enable a smooth transition towards the abandonment of the cap if we choose to do so.
The cap and other reforms I’ve mentioned today are not an end in themselves for international students; on the contrary, they'll help to maintain pathways to permanent residency and citizenship if they're available, attract and retain top talent, and ensure that students who settle in Canada have access to essential resources and supports.
I should note that the international students are not responsible for the challenges communities currently face in housing, health care and other services. These are vital services that all Canadians must be able to access, including the students that we welcome.
As we welcome bright students from around the world, we’re responsible to ensure they’re prepared to navigate life and thrive here, with support along the way.
Thank you, Chair.
I will now take your questions.
