THUNDER BAY – City Council will examine a plea from the intergovernmental affairs committee on whether to ask the federal government to reconsider its position relating to the cap on international student permits.
Westfort Coun. Kristen Oliver, who also chairs the committee, is hoping to consider a measured approach to implementation that includes consultation with post-secondary institutions in Northwestern Ontario and municipalities affected by the change.
“I believe this may have been a knee-jerk reaction to a housing crisis that we're seeing nationally,” Oliver said on Friday.
“I’m sure Ottawa thought this seemed like a good idea at the time, but without those discussions with other stakeholders, such as municipalities, I don't know if there was a real wholesome picture applied to ways to mitigate some of the housing issues.
“A lot of larger centres across Canada are looking at ways to minimize or slow their growth, whereas communities like Thunder Bay are trying to find ways to extend the growth and perhaps speed that up.”
On Jan. 22 Ottawa unveiled plans to reduce the number of new international student permits by 35 per cent in 2024 as part of a temporary two-year cap on foreign enrolment, although Ontario could see a reduction of 50 per cent.
This year, Confederation College has 1,838 foreign students enrolled while Lakehead University has approximately 1,900 students, or over 20 per cent of the student population of more than 9,000, who are international students.
Oliver didn't want to scare anyone, but she said the reduction could have various impacts in Northwestern Ontario.
“If we start seeing that reduction of international students coming into this community, we're likely going to see some closures of businesses or reduced hours. We might also see more people waiting for the health care needs that they so desperately require because those employment opportunities will shrink.
“Foreign students are not subsidized by the government like domestic students are, so they are paying a lot more for their tuition.”
The cap is expected to result in 364,000 new approved study permits in 2024.
The 2025 limit on new applications will be reassessed at the end of this year.
“With colleges and universities relying on provincial support to assist in their budgets, this may now require the provincial government to step up to the plate and start funding some of these institutions," Oliver said.
A 10 per cent tuition cut was introduced by the Progressive Conservative government in 2019 when it cancelled the previous Liberal government's free tuition program for lower-income students. Fees have been frozen since then.
With files from Gary Rinne
