Refugee/Migrant Crisis
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Student visa cap announcement causing havoc: Ontario colleges
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jan 25, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
A recently announced cap on international student visas is already creating havoc, Ontario’s colleges say, and could have major implications for the province’s ability to fill key jobs.
Colleges have a year-round intake of students and many are well into the application process, ready to start programs in May, the association representing the province’s 24 publicly assisted colleges wrote Thursday in a statement.
“This new and unexpected administrative hurdle has resulted in total chaos for students,” Colleges Ontario wrote.
“The entire system for Ontario is frozen. Students who had already been accepted into programs — and had paid their fees for those programs — are now having their applications for study permits returned to them. This is often without any explanation or way forward. This situation was entirely avoidable and is entirely arbitrary.”
The imposition of an immediate requirement for a letter of attestation from the provincial government is halting all student visa processing right now because Ontario doesn’t currently have such a process, the colleges said. They are calling on the federal government to delay the implementation of that requirement.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller earlier this week announced a 35-per-cent reduction in the number of study permits this year, though with the total cap divided between provinces, Ontario will see its allotment of new visas cut in half.
The cap comes in response to a recent surge in international students and Miller has said it is meant to curb bad actors from taking advantage of high tuition fees while providing a poor education.
College graduates fill key labour market needs, the colleges said, in areas such as health care, advanced manufacturing, construction and early childhood education.
In 2022, a report from Ontario’s auditor general said the province’s schools had become increasingly dependent on tuition fees from international students, particularly after the province forced public universities and colleges to cut and then freeze tuition fees for Canadian students in 2019.
A report last year commissioned by the Ontario government recommended the province unfreeze tuition and increase funding to its post-secondary institutions. The province’s funding to colleges per student is $6,891, 44 per cent of the figure for the rest of Canada, at $15,615, the panel wrote.
Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop has said she wants post-secondary institutions to “create greater efficiencies in operations.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jan 25, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
A recently announced cap on international student visas is already creating havoc, Ontario’s colleges say, and could have major implications for the province’s ability to fill key jobs.
Colleges have a year-round intake of students and many are well into the application process, ready to start programs in May, the association representing the province’s 24 publicly assisted colleges wrote Thursday in a statement.
“This new and unexpected administrative hurdle has resulted in total chaos for students,” Colleges Ontario wrote.
“The entire system for Ontario is frozen. Students who had already been accepted into programs — and had paid their fees for those programs — are now having their applications for study permits returned to them. This is often without any explanation or way forward. This situation was entirely avoidable and is entirely arbitrary.”
The imposition of an immediate requirement for a letter of attestation from the provincial government is halting all student visa processing right now because Ontario doesn’t currently have such a process, the colleges said. They are calling on the federal government to delay the implementation of that requirement.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller earlier this week announced a 35-per-cent reduction in the number of study permits this year, though with the total cap divided between provinces, Ontario will see its allotment of new visas cut in half.
The cap comes in response to a recent surge in international students and Miller has said it is meant to curb bad actors from taking advantage of high tuition fees while providing a poor education.
College graduates fill key labour market needs, the colleges said, in areas such as health care, advanced manufacturing, construction and early childhood education.
In 2022, a report from Ontario’s auditor general said the province’s schools had become increasingly dependent on tuition fees from international students, particularly after the province forced public universities and colleges to cut and then freeze tuition fees for Canadian students in 2019.
A report last year commissioned by the Ontario government recommended the province unfreeze tuition and increase funding to its post-secondary institutions. The province’s funding to colleges per student is $6,891, 44 per cent of the figure for the rest of Canada, at $15,615, the panel wrote.
Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop has said she wants post-secondary institutions to “create greater efficiencies in operations.”
Student visa cap announcement causing havoc: Ontario colleges
With the total cap divided between provinces, Ontario will see its allotment of new visas cut in half.
If anyone watched the W5 episode about foreign students you would be embarrassed. I know I was.Student visa cap announcement causing havoc: Ontario colleges
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jan 25, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
A recently announced cap on international student visas is already creating havoc, Ontario’s colleges say, and could have major implications for the province’s ability to fill key jobs.
Colleges have a year-round intake of students and many are well into the application process, ready to start programs in May, the association representing the province’s 24 publicly assisted colleges wrote Thursday in a statement.
“This new and unexpected administrative hurdle has resulted in total chaos for students,” Colleges Ontario wrote.
“The entire system for Ontario is frozen. Students who had already been accepted into programs — and had paid their fees for those programs — are now having their applications for study permits returned to them. This is often without any explanation or way forward. This situation was entirely avoidable and is entirely arbitrary.”
The imposition of an immediate requirement for a letter of attestation from the provincial government is halting all student visa processing right now because Ontario doesn’t currently have such a process, the colleges said. They are calling on the federal government to delay the implementation of that requirement.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller earlier this week announced a 35-per-cent reduction in the number of study permits this year, though with the total cap divided between provinces, Ontario will see its allotment of new visas cut in half.
The cap comes in response to a recent surge in international students and Miller has said it is meant to curb bad actors from taking advantage of high tuition fees while providing a poor education.
College graduates fill key labour market needs, the colleges said, in areas such as health care, advanced manufacturing, construction and early childhood education.
In 2022, a report from Ontario’s auditor general said the province’s schools had become increasingly dependent on tuition fees from international students, particularly after the province forced public universities and colleges to cut and then freeze tuition fees for Canadian students in 2019.
A report last year commissioned by the Ontario government recommended the province unfreeze tuition and increase funding to its post-secondary institutions. The province’s funding to colleges per student is $6,891, 44 per cent of the figure for the rest of Canada, at $15,615, the panel wrote.
Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop has said she wants post-secondary institutions to “create greater efficiencies in operations.”
Student visa cap announcement causing havoc: Ontario colleges
With the total cap divided between provinces, Ontario will see its allotment of new visas cut in half.
Might have to cut some of the more useless programs and departments. Department of hurt feelings can go.Student visa cap announcement causing havoc: Ontario colleges
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jan 25, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
A recently announced cap on international student visas is already creating havoc, Ontario’s colleges say, and could have major implications for the province’s ability to fill key jobs.
Colleges have a year-round intake of students and many are well into the application process, ready to start programs in May, the association representing the province’s 24 publicly assisted colleges wrote Thursday in a statement.
“This new and unexpected administrative hurdle has resulted in total chaos for students,” Colleges Ontario wrote.
“The entire system for Ontario is frozen. Students who had already been accepted into programs — and had paid their fees for those programs — are now having their applications for study permits returned to them. This is often without any explanation or way forward. This situation was entirely avoidable and is entirely arbitrary.”
The imposition of an immediate requirement for a letter of attestation from the provincial government is halting all student visa processing right now because Ontario doesn’t currently have such a process, the colleges said. They are calling on the federal government to delay the implementation of that requirement.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller earlier this week announced a 35-per-cent reduction in the number of study permits this year, though with the total cap divided between provinces, Ontario will see its allotment of new visas cut in half.
The cap comes in response to a recent surge in international students and Miller has said it is meant to curb bad actors from taking advantage of high tuition fees while providing a poor education.
College graduates fill key labour market needs, the colleges said, in areas such as health care, advanced manufacturing, construction and early childhood education.
In 2022, a report from Ontario’s auditor general said the province’s schools had become increasingly dependent on tuition fees from international students, particularly after the province forced public universities and colleges to cut and then freeze tuition fees for Canadian students in 2019.
A report last year commissioned by the Ontario government recommended the province unfreeze tuition and increase funding to its post-secondary institutions. The province’s funding to colleges per student is $6,891, 44 per cent of the figure for the rest of Canada, at $15,615, the panel wrote.
Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop has said she wants post-secondary institutions to “create greater efficiencies in operations.”
Student visa cap announcement causing havoc: Ontario colleges
With the total cap divided between provinces, Ontario will see its allotment of new visas cut in half.
If you read newspapers, you tend to learn a lot of wrong words. In your profession it is a little more important, mostly because at least some of the other overpriced help might know the difference.
How about maybe the Democrats try cooperating for once? Or is that beyond their iq level?
The more I learn about it, the more complicated it seems to get. Glad we were not put in that position.
Yes, the majority in the White House and the Senate should "co-operate" with the minority, who have a two-vote majority in the House of Representatives.
You realize, I hope, that I will throw this back at you when the Conservatives take over up yonder.
Even having served myself (voluntarily, the draft was over), I don't question anybody's choice to serve or evade the draft, by legal means or no.
I regard conscription as a violation of the 13th Amendment (forbidding slavery and involuntary servitude).
"When the law does not serve justice, justice should not serve the law."
--The Latest Iteration of Zorro
They just prefer to call those who don't agree with them racists, white supremists et al. So ya, it's below their IQ level. It's all about power & control - remind you of anyone else in this country?
Post-secondary schools must guarantee housing for international students: Ontario
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Liam Casey and Allison Jones
Published Jan 26, 2024 • 4 minute read
Ontario says all colleges and universities will be required to guarantee housing for incoming international students.
Ontario says all colleges and universities will be required to guarantee housing for incoming international students.
TORONTO — Ontario colleges and universities will be required to guarantee housing for incoming international students, Minister Jill Dunlop announced Friday.
The government will also review post-secondary institutions with a “sizable” number of international students and introduce a moratorium on new public college and private institution partnerships, she said.
The announcement comes days after the federal government announced a cap on study permits for international undergraduate students over the next two years.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller earlier this week announced a 35 per cent reduction in the number of study permits this year, though with the total cap divided between provinces, Ontario will see its allotment of new visas cut in half.
The move comes in response to a recent surge in international students and Miller has said it is meant to curb bad actors from taking advantage of high international student tuition fees while providing a poor education.
Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government made public colleges and universities cut tuition by 10 per cent in 2019, then froze tuition at that level and did not provide a corresponding funding increase.
Post-secondary institutions, particularly colleges, began enrolling more and more international students in an effort to recoup lost revenue.
The Ontario government said Friday that it was acting to protect students and improve the integrity of the province’s post-secondary education.
“The challenges stemming from the recent spike in students coming to Canada, including predatory practices by bad-actor recruiters, misinformation regarding citizenship and permanent residency, false promises of guaranteed employment, and inadequate housing for students, require immediate attention and collaborative action,” Dunlop wrote in a statement.
The government’s measures include a requirement that all colleges and universities have a guarantee that housing options are available for incoming international students.
But Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner said that will do little.
“Housing doesn’t appear out of thin air,” he wrote in a statement.
“Mandating housing without a funding commitment to help Ontario’s universities and colleges pay for it is little more than smoke and mirrors.”
The NDP criticized the Progressive Conservatives for failing to respond to a government-commissioned report that last year recommended the province increase tuition fees and funding colleges and universities.
“It is abundantly clear that this government would rather see post-secondary institutions close than cough up the investments needed to keep them afloat,” NDP critic Jamie West wrote in a statement.
“They have been asleep at the wheel for the past five years while public colleges and universities languished, paving the way for a predatory private, for-profit education system that has only harmed students.”
Since the report was released in November, Dunlop has said the province is reviewing the recommendations and was working with the institutions to help find “efficiencies.”
That review remains ongoing.
“As this review process continues, the government will work closely with the sector to reach an outcome that provides stability and certainty for post-secondary institutions and students alike, with further details to be announced by the end of February,” the province said in a statement.
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations said Friday’s announcement misses the mark by coming with no funding.
“Ontario needs international students, but universities need more funding from the government to provide the support that international _and domestic _students need to succeed inside and outside the classroom,” Nigmendra Narain, the organization’s president, wrote in a statement.
“The ministry has not provided any tools to do this with these proposals.”
Dunlop also announced a provincial review of programs offered by post-secondary institutions that have a significant amount of international students to ensure the programs are of appropriate quality and meet labour market needs.
As well, the province said it would bring in a moratorium on new public college-private partnerships “while further work is done to strengthen oversight mechanisms and ensure the quality of existing partnerships.”
This week’s federal announcement included barring students in schools that follow a private-public model from accessing postgraduate work permits as of Sept. 1.
Ontario colleges and universities have come out against the federal government’s move to cap international student visas.
In 2022, a report from Ontario’s auditor general said the province’s schools had become increasingly dependent on tuition fees from international students.
International student enrolment has quickly increased over the past several years, said a report last summer commissioned by Ontario’s Big City Mayors.
The number of international students at Ontario universities nearly doubled from 2014-15 to 2021-22, and more than tripled at colleges. The majority of institutions built no new student residence spaces during that 2014-15 to 2021-22 period, the report found.
Ontario, like much of Canada, remains gripped in a housing crisis. The province has pledged to build 1.5 million homes by 2031 in an effort to address the supply shortage.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Liam Casey and Allison Jones
Published Jan 26, 2024 • 4 minute read
Ontario says all colleges and universities will be required to guarantee housing for incoming international students.
Ontario says all colleges and universities will be required to guarantee housing for incoming international students.
TORONTO — Ontario colleges and universities will be required to guarantee housing for incoming international students, Minister Jill Dunlop announced Friday.
The government will also review post-secondary institutions with a “sizable” number of international students and introduce a moratorium on new public college and private institution partnerships, she said.
The announcement comes days after the federal government announced a cap on study permits for international undergraduate students over the next two years.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller earlier this week announced a 35 per cent reduction in the number of study permits this year, though with the total cap divided between provinces, Ontario will see its allotment of new visas cut in half.
The move comes in response to a recent surge in international students and Miller has said it is meant to curb bad actors from taking advantage of high international student tuition fees while providing a poor education.
Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government made public colleges and universities cut tuition by 10 per cent in 2019, then froze tuition at that level and did not provide a corresponding funding increase.
Post-secondary institutions, particularly colleges, began enrolling more and more international students in an effort to recoup lost revenue.
The Ontario government said Friday that it was acting to protect students and improve the integrity of the province’s post-secondary education.
“The challenges stemming from the recent spike in students coming to Canada, including predatory practices by bad-actor recruiters, misinformation regarding citizenship and permanent residency, false promises of guaranteed employment, and inadequate housing for students, require immediate attention and collaborative action,” Dunlop wrote in a statement.
The government’s measures include a requirement that all colleges and universities have a guarantee that housing options are available for incoming international students.
But Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner said that will do little.
“Housing doesn’t appear out of thin air,” he wrote in a statement.
“Mandating housing without a funding commitment to help Ontario’s universities and colleges pay for it is little more than smoke and mirrors.”
The NDP criticized the Progressive Conservatives for failing to respond to a government-commissioned report that last year recommended the province increase tuition fees and funding colleges and universities.
“It is abundantly clear that this government would rather see post-secondary institutions close than cough up the investments needed to keep them afloat,” NDP critic Jamie West wrote in a statement.
“They have been asleep at the wheel for the past five years while public colleges and universities languished, paving the way for a predatory private, for-profit education system that has only harmed students.”
Since the report was released in November, Dunlop has said the province is reviewing the recommendations and was working with the institutions to help find “efficiencies.”
That review remains ongoing.
“As this review process continues, the government will work closely with the sector to reach an outcome that provides stability and certainty for post-secondary institutions and students alike, with further details to be announced by the end of February,” the province said in a statement.
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations said Friday’s announcement misses the mark by coming with no funding.
“Ontario needs international students, but universities need more funding from the government to provide the support that international _and domestic _students need to succeed inside and outside the classroom,” Nigmendra Narain, the organization’s president, wrote in a statement.
“The ministry has not provided any tools to do this with these proposals.”
Dunlop also announced a provincial review of programs offered by post-secondary institutions that have a significant amount of international students to ensure the programs are of appropriate quality and meet labour market needs.
As well, the province said it would bring in a moratorium on new public college-private partnerships “while further work is done to strengthen oversight mechanisms and ensure the quality of existing partnerships.”
This week’s federal announcement included barring students in schools that follow a private-public model from accessing postgraduate work permits as of Sept. 1.
Ontario colleges and universities have come out against the federal government’s move to cap international student visas.
In 2022, a report from Ontario’s auditor general said the province’s schools had become increasingly dependent on tuition fees from international students.
International student enrolment has quickly increased over the past several years, said a report last summer commissioned by Ontario’s Big City Mayors.
The number of international students at Ontario universities nearly doubled from 2014-15 to 2021-22, and more than tripled at colleges. The majority of institutions built no new student residence spaces during that 2014-15 to 2021-22 period, the report found.
Ontario, like much of Canada, remains gripped in a housing crisis. The province has pledged to build 1.5 million homes by 2031 in an effort to address the supply shortage.
Post-secondary schools must guarantee housing for international students: Ontario
Ontario colleges and universities will be required to guarantee housing for incoming international students, Minister Jill Dunlop announced.
Yeah, because calling your opponents soshulist Commies is so much more intellectual.
All together now. . . "Woke! Woke BAD!" and wipe your chin.
Mexican asylum trends still concerning despite December drop: IRCC
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Laura Osman
Published Jan 27, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
OTTAWA — Canada’s Immigration Department denies Mexico’s assertion that a pact between the two countries is already curbing asylum claims in Canada, as the minister in charge faces mounting pressure to reimpose visas for Mexican citizens.
Last week Mexico’s foreign ministry said both countries are undertaking unspecified “joint measures,” which it credits for a decline in the number of claims filed in December.
Data from Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada shows December saw 500 fewer asylum claims from Mexican citizens compared to the previous month.
But the department says decreases are typical at this time of year.
“Claims fluctuate monthly for a variety of reasons, such as availability of flights and costs,” IRCC said in a statement Friday.
“We remain concerned with the overall growing trend of Mexican asylum claimants, and that is why the Government of Canada is monitoring these trends and remains committed to protecting the integrity of its immigration system and the safety and security of Canadians.”
The department’s data shows the number of asylum claims from Mexico increased 2,000 per cent since the Liberal’s were elected, from 110 in 2015 to 23,995 in 2023.
That’s partially the result of the government’s decision in 2016 to lift the visa requirement, making it easier for people from Mexico to make an asylum claim in Canada.
In the last year alone, there were 46 per cent more asylum claims from Mexican nationals compared to 2022.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller wouldn’t confirm Thursday whether Canada has changed its policies, and the statement from the department says the two countries are only exploring options.
“We cannot speculate on future policy decisions. Any new development would be communicated publicly,” the department said.
The Conservatives have urged the Liberals to reinstate the visa requirement for Mexicans, arguing the change has led to fraud, abuse and strain on the asylum system.
The Biden administration has also warned that human traffickers linked to Mexican cartels may be exploiting Canada’s visa-free regime in order to get people into the U.S.
Mexico’s foreign ministry has maintained that it’s important to preserve the economic benefits of easier travel between both countries.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Laura Osman
Published Jan 27, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
OTTAWA — Canada’s Immigration Department denies Mexico’s assertion that a pact between the two countries is already curbing asylum claims in Canada, as the minister in charge faces mounting pressure to reimpose visas for Mexican citizens.
Last week Mexico’s foreign ministry said both countries are undertaking unspecified “joint measures,” which it credits for a decline in the number of claims filed in December.
Data from Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada shows December saw 500 fewer asylum claims from Mexican citizens compared to the previous month.
But the department says decreases are typical at this time of year.
“Claims fluctuate monthly for a variety of reasons, such as availability of flights and costs,” IRCC said in a statement Friday.
“We remain concerned with the overall growing trend of Mexican asylum claimants, and that is why the Government of Canada is monitoring these trends and remains committed to protecting the integrity of its immigration system and the safety and security of Canadians.”
The department’s data shows the number of asylum claims from Mexico increased 2,000 per cent since the Liberal’s were elected, from 110 in 2015 to 23,995 in 2023.
That’s partially the result of the government’s decision in 2016 to lift the visa requirement, making it easier for people from Mexico to make an asylum claim in Canada.
In the last year alone, there were 46 per cent more asylum claims from Mexican nationals compared to 2022.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller wouldn’t confirm Thursday whether Canada has changed its policies, and the statement from the department says the two countries are only exploring options.
“We cannot speculate on future policy decisions. Any new development would be communicated publicly,” the department said.
The Conservatives have urged the Liberals to reinstate the visa requirement for Mexicans, arguing the change has led to fraud, abuse and strain on the asylum system.
The Biden administration has also warned that human traffickers linked to Mexican cartels may be exploiting Canada’s visa-free regime in order to get people into the U.S.
Mexico’s foreign ministry has maintained that it’s important to preserve the economic benefits of easier travel between both countries.
Mexican asylum trends still concerning despite December drop: IRCC
Canada's immigration department is denying Mexico's claim that a pact between the two countries is already curbing asylum claims in Canada.
200 jobs listed on the local classified website in a city of 7400 where I live. Most of the refugees stay for a year which must be the agreement and then move on.