‘Whiplash’ over student immigration policy

BRANDON — The provincial government is urging Ottawa to review its immigration policies, as Manitoba colleges face the brunt of changes made to Canada’s international student program.

The province is asking for a seat at the table when critical decisions are made on international student numbers.

Last month, Assiniboine College in Brandon halved its culinary arts student intake and discontinued its baking and hospitality programs.

The change was caused by updates to the international student program on June 25 — in particular, the restrictions on post-graduation work permits for non-degree programs not tied to national labour shortages.

“We knew when the federal government unilaterally made the decision that it would have impacts, and we are starting to see it in real time,” Advanced Education and Training Minister Renée Cable said at an unrelated news conference in Brandon this week.

She said Manitoba is different from other provinces, and a decision such as this one from Ottawa has a bigger impact.

“Our communities benefit from newcomers coming to Manitoba, and so we’ll continue to make the case with the federal government and continue to work with our institutions,” she said.

Assiniboine College director of communications and marketing Anya McNabb said these changes make the college look worse as a candidate for students.

“The ongoing uncertainty and unpredictable nature of changes to programs deemed eligible for international post graduate work permits continues to make Canada a less desirable study destination for prospective international students,” she wrote in an email.

McNabb said this also has a larger impact, as the college isn’t able to send students into the workforce.

“We encourage the federal government to allow provinces to inform regional labour needs to ensure immigration and education policies align with provincial economic and workforce priorities and support local businesses and communities.”

On July 4, Ottawa updated its list of eligible post-graduation work permits programs, although the three Assiniboine programs are still affected.

McNabb said the college welcomed the announcement, even though it didn’t change anything for the cut and halved programs.

“The back and forth and the sort of whiplash there has been, it’s been difficult to keep track of,” she said over the phone.

Cable said the province is doing what it can to help, not only by talking with the federal government, but by investing in its colleges and universities.

On Wednesday, Cable accompanied Premier Wab Kinew and other ministers to announce 10 new seats to train doctors at Brandon University. A portion of $3.3 million of announced capital funding will be used to renovate an aging science building on campus.

Cable said the province wasn’t consulted when the decisions on international student uptake were made.

“As the federal government continues to make changes, there continues to be additional challenges for institutions,” she said. “Our first ask for the federal government is to bring us to the table in a real way to have conversations and to talk about how unique Manitoba is.”

Kinew said when post-secondary institutions prepare for a certain number of international students and they don’t reach that target, it can hurt.

“When the federal government makes a change like this, after (Brandon University) and after (Assiniboine College) have already planned on having that money coming in from international students, it pulls the rug out from under them.”

He added that the government recently announced upgrades for Assiniboine College, which shows its commitment to helping local post-secondary institutions.

At the state of the province address in May, Kinew pledged $120 million for the Prairie Innovation Centre, something he called on Ottawa to also chip in on.

“We really want to see the feds invest in that project as well,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate to see that (Assiniboine College) faces other fiscal challenges as a result of decisions that other levels of government are making.”

The federal government didn’t respond to requests for comment by press time.

— Brandon Sun