International student cap could actually be a boon for N.L., immigration minister says

اخبار العرب-كندا 24: الجمعة 2 فبراير 2024 04:46 مساءً

Immigration Minister Gerry Byrne says the national cap on international students, coming into effect this year, may actually increase the number of students coming to Newfoundland and Labrador. (Curtis Hicks/CBC - image credit)

Immigration Minister Gerry Byrne says the national cap on international students, coming into effect this year, may actually increase the number of students coming to Newfoundland and Labrador. (Curtis Hicks/CBC - image credit)

The number of international students coming to Newfoundland and Labrador may actually increase in the next two years despite a new federally implemented cap reducing their numbers by 35 per cent, the province's immigration minister said Thursday.

In the wake of Ottawa's decision last week to severely curtail the number of incoming foreign students — an attempt to address a countrywide housing crunch — Gerry Byrne says Newfoundland and Labrador may actually benefit from the cap.

Byrne says federal Immigration Minister Mark Miller reassured him the cap would affect the provinces with large numbers of international students studying at underregulated colleges.

"Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and P.E.I. will see net reductions in their number of international students, while Newfoundland and Labrador will go from 3,000 successful applicants per year to up to almost 4,800 applicants," Byrne said.

"We're talking about a significant increase."

Byrne's assurances come after student unions voiced concerns about the cap, wondering whether limiting international students would prompt tuition increases and contribute to students' growing struggle to pay for food and shelter.

Byrne attempted to assuage those fears by repeatedly saying Ottawa recognizes Newfoundland and Labrador as one of the most well-regulated provinces for incoming students.

He said his department intends to support international student population growth across the province.

"These students add approximately $150 million a year to the GDP of our province. These are people that we need to promote and support," he said.

Memorial University declined an interview on the cap Thursday. Spokesperson Chad Pelley said in an emailed statement that it would be "premature to speculate" on its impact in Newfoundland and Labrador, but suggested the school "highly values" its international students and will do "all that it can to support" them, noting foreign students are disproportionately involved in business start-ups and heavily invested in school affairs.

Story continues

Housing still up in the air

Bringing in more students means post-secondary schools and government must figure out a way to house them, however.

Memorial University's student union said this week that its international population has struggled to find affordable housing close to campus already, for at least the last three semesters.

Byrne says the government won't bring in more students than the province can house but couldn't yet say how officials will decide who's paying for any new builds.

Signage for Memorial University in St. John’s is shown on  Monday, January 30, 2023.

Signage for Memorial University in St. John’s is shown on Monday, January 30, 2023.

Affordable housing close to campus has been in short supply lately, says Memorial University's student union. (Paul Daly/The Canadian Press)

A student residence expansion, he said, may not be publicly funded at all.

"We've got programs, incentives to build affordable housing that includes student housing. But what seems perfectly obvious to me, that on a market basis, any institution that knows that they have a growing demand, a growing capacity to deliver, you can take that to the bank and build student housing and get reasonable market rates and pay for that mortgage if that's required," he said.

"So let's just look at all the options before we decide that this has to be grant-infused public housing."

Byrne says the province will bring in only as many students as it can house.

"We've got to make sure that housing is available. We've got to make sure that the supports are there. This is where MUN and CNA … need to step up and step up big."

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.

تم ادراج الخبر والعهده على المصدر، الرجاء الكتابة الينا لاي توضبح - برجاء اخبارنا بريديا عن خروقات لحقوق النشر للغير

السابق Wet and cool pattern sets up for the Prairies, eyes on some late week snow
التالى Biden sharply hikes US tariffs on Chinese imports, including chips, cars

 
c 1976-2021 Arab News 24 Int'l - Canada: كافة حقوق الموقع والتصميم محفوظة لـ أخبار العرب-كندا
الآراء المنشورة في هذا الموقع، لا تعبر بالضرورة علي آراء الناشرأو محرري الموقع ولكن تعبر عن رأي كاتبيها
Opinion in this site does not reflect the opinion of the Publisher/ or the Editors, but reflects the opinion of its authors.
This website is Educational and Not for Profit to inform & educate the Arab Community in Canada & USA
This Website conforms to all Canadian Laws
Copyrights infringements: The news published here are feeds from different media, if there is any concern,
please contact us: arabnews AT yahoo.com and we will remove, rectify or address the matter.