THUNDER BAY — The president of the student union at Lakehead University is speaking out against the federal government's decision to cap the number of international student visas it issues.
The move, announced Monday, means Ontario will have to cut its intake of foreign students in half for at least the next two years.
Post-secondary institutions around the province have come to rely increasingly on international students – who pay significantly higher tuition than domestic students – to keep their enrollment up and maintain adequate revenue to support their programs.
But the number of foreign students has rapidly escalated, leading the government to decide a slowdown is necessary to ease the growing strain on services including housing and health care.
LUSU president Faraz Khorsandi, in a statement Tuesday, said the cap will force institutions to raise their international student tuition even higher to make up for lost income.
"The heart of this issue is that institutions have become so reliant on international student tuition because of the decrease in public funding . . . It would be naive to place the blame on students themselves rather than focusing on how we can work towards accommodating them," he said.
"These measures might temporarily cut demands in the housing market but the issue has never been international students. Based on Statistics Canada, there are one million vacant houses that are not being used, and we see management as a whole [as] an issue in this scenario."
Khorsandi said he worries Ottawa's action will widen the divide in what he described as a two-tiered education system that singles out international students "and places the punishment on the victims rather than those perpetuating the conditions that international students live in."
He argued that they are already paying close to six times more than domestic students while dealing with mental health, housing and financial crises, and not being eligible for government loans, grants or other supports.
Over 20 per cent of students at Lakehead University's two campuses are international students.
Confederation College has an even higher proportion of foreign students – more than 50 per cent.
TBnewswatch has reached out to the president of the college student union for comment.
Late Tuesday, Lakehead University President Gillian Siddall issued a statement saying the size of the federal cap will have "a dramatic impact" on the financial health of the post-secondary sector, including LU.
She said the university is still seeking details on how Ontario plans to implement the new policy, and how this will impact Lakehead specifically.
Confederation College President Kathleen Lynch is expected to speak to the issue on Wednesday.
