Distances might have shrunk to hopping on a plane and landing on another continent in a matter of hours but in our increasingly mobile world of today, borders have never been more visible. ‘Immigration’ is a scary word for everyone who has had an experience of going beyond the check-in point in an international airport, even when the purpose might be ‘visiting’ and not ‘immigrating’. I especially talk for the student community that represents a considerable share of movement through different countries. As if growing up isn’t scary enough, we are made to go through tiring visa processes and endless worries of having to fund our education as international students. I allowed myself to question the extent to which Canada welcomes international students.
Canada has a labour shortage. Heck, it might even have a labour crisis. A report last January by Human Resources and Social Development Canada identified a shortage of workers in many important occupations. The shortage is worst in the health care sector, where Canada is lacking doctors, nurses, pharmacists, medical technicians, and dental assistants. Jobs in management, oil and gas, construction, computer engineering, and in academia are opening up in large numbers. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business estimated there were 251,000 long-term job vacancies in Canada last year. A common man’s logic would entail the opinion that the government should be eager to attract bright young people to Canada to earn a degree and start a career.
But think again. After paying $125 to have their study permits reviewed, prospective international students must prove they have enough money to pay tuition fees, living expenses, and return transportation to their home country. They also pay three times as much tuition as a Canadian student, and do not have access to the Canada Student Loans program. If they did, one could bet that many more students would come to Canada.
To make Canadian education more affordable for the most talented young immigrants, one would think that the Canadian government would set international students to work. Jobs and merit-based scholarships are an international student’s only funding options once they get here, as they sometimes are not eligible for needs-based bursaries or student loans from their schools. If they do find a job, they can only work full-time in the summer.
Well, at least international students are encouraged to work in Canada after they earn their degree, right? Wrong. If you want a study visa in this country, you have to convince an immigration officer you’ll leave Canada after earning your degree. In other words, prove you’ll take your degree and run.
Despite this promise to leave, international students can apply for a post-graduate work permit once they have finished school. But they have to find a job first — and only have 90 days after their last exam is marked to do it, or they are sent home. And not just any job — it must be directly related to the student’s degree. They also need to convince an employer to hire them without being able to commit long-term. Postgraduate work permits last a maximum of two years — one year if the job is in Vancouver, Montreal, or Toronto, or if the student earned their degree there.
It doesn’t make sense that these gifted students, who earn scholarships or awards from Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, cannot get a work permit. More than 130,000 international students are attending Canadian universities right now. The country is earning a failing grade at keeping them here and that calls for a desperate need for change. More than a quarter of a million jobs are at stake.
As I navigate through my academic life and its challenges of pulling off all nighters for endless assignments, presentations, exams, part-time jobs- all for good grades and living up to the expectations of the future, I can only hope that the next generation can actually enjoy education as a human right in practice rather than in UN speeches.
