October 7, 2024
The Honourable Marc Miller, P.C., M.P. Minister of Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Dear Minister:
On behalf of the Vancouver Community College Faculty Association (VCCFA), I write in opposition to the recent federal announcement regarding further restrictions on international student study permits and changes to post-graduate work permit eligibility. The changes unfairly target colleges more than universities and will have a detrimental effect on students, institutions, and communities.
The post-secondary sector in Canada has evolved over the last few decades from a government funded sector to one that is funded increasingly from international tuition. This swing has likely gone too far, and problems within it have been rife: extremely high tuition, a lack of student supports, and too often a commitment to getting international seats filled taking precedence over providing quality education and strong social supports. That said, what is an institution to do when there is no more government support and budgets must be balanced? Universities have played this game the best, filling huge auditoriums with international students, literally cashing in on these students, using astronomical tuition dollars—often triple the already high rates domestic students pay– to build more and more buildings. It’s gotten so that most institutions are completely dependent on this tuition to keep the doors open
The situation with colleges is quite different, and the situation with Vancouver Community College is absolutely unique. We have always limited the number of international student seats, as the type of programs we offer do not always naturally lend themselves to international student markets. We strive as an institution to meet the labor market needs required by government and the communities we serve. We delivery quality education in sectors where workers are needed such as healthcare, trades, hospitality, early childhood education, not to mention delivering language instruction to newcomers so that immigrants can obtain the language skills to get them working.
The changes you have proposed are problematic in several ways. First, the changes to post-graduate work permits target colleges directly and will have a negative impact on enrollments. Secondly, the mandate to match federal labour market needs directly contradict our provincial obligations, which VCC is barely able to currently meet. The federal labour market situation is different, and the new federal directives create unnecessary confusion both for students and for institutions. The changes are already causing instability and fear in the sector, and we anticipate international enrolments to plummet causing financial hardship for the institution, job losses, and negative ripple effects that will be felt in all the communities we serve.
Importantly, with such overly extreme and frequent changes in policy we are treating our blameless students as disposable—both the internationals whose families sacrificed to send them here in good faith, and the domestic students whose programming is in part maintained by international tuition as well. This change will harm Canada’s international reputation for years to come.
We call on you to repeal these changes and work with colleges across the country to find a solution that will work for all.
Respectfully,
Taryn Thomson
VCCFA President
TT/aj
cc:
Don Davies, M.P.
Hedy Fry, M.P.
Peter Julian, M.P.
Jenny Kwan, M.P.
Jasmeet Singh, M.P.
Ajay Patel, President, Vancouver Community College