Thank you.
Good morning, Madam Chair.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to testify today before the committee to discuss our report on reforms to the international student program, which was tabled last March.
I would like to acknowledge that this hearing is taking place on the traditional, unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people.
As part of this audit, we examined the implementation of reforms to the international student program by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. These reforms were intended to manage the program's growth and strengthen its integrity controls. Overall, we concluded that, while the department reduced the number of new study permits issued, it did not meet expectations in other key areas.
In 2024, the department issued just under 150,000 new study permits. This figure was well below projections, which stood at nearly 350,000. Some provinces, particularly those with smaller populations, were disproportionately affected. For example, Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan were both projected to see a 10% increase in the number of new study permits approved compared to the previous year. However, both saw a decrease of at least 59%.
The audit found critical weaknesses in the program's integrity controls. Although the department introduced a new tool to verify acceptance letters and had processes to identify potential fraud and student non-compliance, it did not effectively investigate or follow up when risks were flagged. For example, in 2023 and 2024, designated learning institutions identified over 153,000 potential cases of non-compliance with study permits, but the department investigated only about 4,000 of them.
Most cases could not be closed, because the students did not respond to the department's requests for more information. Further, the department's fraud detection activities identified 800 cases of fraud after permits were approved. No follow-up occurred on these cases. In most instances, individuals went on to apply for other immigration permits while in Canada. More than half of those applications have since been approved.
Our audit also identified an opportunity for better collaboration with the Canada Border Services Agency. We found that the immigration department did not collaborate with the agency to identify whether students with expired permits had left Canada. Using the immigration department's available data, we worked with the Canada Border Services Agency and found that only about 40% of the 39,500 students required to leave in 2024 had, in fact, left the country.
Ultimately, the department needs to act on the information it already has to address integrity concerns in the program, including collaborating with the Canada Border Services Agency. This is equally important once students are in Canada and applying for additional permits.
Madam Chair, this concludes my opening statement. We will be happy to answer any questions from committee members.
Thank you.