International students need chance at more income

Opinion

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This article was published 24/04/2023 (868 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ALTHOUGH Canadian post-secondary students are allowed to work an unlimited number of hours per week off-campus, post-secondary international students in Canada with valid study permits are permitted to work only 20 hours a week off-campus to support themselves while class is in session.

International students who violate this maximum hours policy risk losing their status in Canada. On average, international students pay $15,000 more annually in tuition fees than domestic students, and being limited to working 20-hours per week off-campus is a serious impediment to many.

Fewer work hours means limited earnings, negatively impacting international students in various ways, such as: inability to buy healthy foods, inability to pay credit card and phone bills, inability to pay rent on time and risk losing rental residences, inability to afford health care because of lack of provincial health insurance, risk of losing their status and getting deregistered from school because they are not able to pay tuition fees or purchase course materials.

Indeed, many are forced to borrow from family and friends to help them survive.

The Canadian government and Canadian post-secondary schools have made recruiting international students a major part of their strategic plans and Canada is a welcoming destination for international students pursuing post-secondary education, especially students who plan to work and stay in the country permanently after their studies. As of 2021, the total number of post-secondary international students was approximately 388,782 and this number is expected to increase in subsequent years. They contribute billions of dollars to Canada’s GDP every year — in 2018, $22 billion to the Canadian economy through tuition, accommodation and other expenses, and nearly $400 million annually to Manitoba’s GDP. In fact, it is estimated that the educational expenditures by international students have a greater impact on Canada’s economy than exports of auto parts, lumber or aircraft. In addition to this, international students are sought to relieve the national demographic imbalance created by an aging population and declining birth rates.

On Oct. 7, 2022, federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced a temporary lifting of the 20-hour per week cap (from Nov. 15, 2022, until Dec. 31, 2023) on the number of hours that eligible post-secondary international students are allowed to work off-campus while class is in session. This change brought smiles to most international students, however this happiness will be short-lived, as after Dec. 31, 2023, the 20-hour maximum cap for international students working off-campus resumes.

Why reinstate this cap? What good does it achieve? Why not make the lifting of the 20 hour off-campus limit permanent? If domestic post-secondary education students are allowed to work unlimited hours off-campus to support themselves during their entire studies, then why shouldn’t international students also be allowed to? The 20-hour limit for off-campus employment seems arbitrary and unfairly penalizes international students. A good portion of international students will, upon graduation, stay in Canada to contribute their knowledge and skills to the Canadian economy, it only seems logical and just to offer them equal opportunity to support themselves financially while pursuing their post-secondary studies.

Indeed, international students are primarily in Canada to study, not work, but, if immigration and post-secondary institutions’ policies focus mostly on how to attract them without promoting effective supportive strategies then these students will find it very difficult to survive in Canada and complete their studies when they arrive.

Given their substantial contribution to the Canadian economy, Canada should do right by these students. One of the important ways to support them during their studies in Canada is to enhance their capacity to financially sustain themselves.

Permanently increasing the allowable hours threshold or allowing them — like their Canadian peers — to work unlimited hours off-campus can be part of the commitment of the government of Canada to support the academic success of international students. Like Sweden, international students in Canada could be allowed unlimited working hours but they should maintain good academic standing during their entire studies, else they risk losing their status in Canada. It will be up to them — as it is for Canadian students — to decide either to work fewer hours or more while attending to their academic responsibilities.

In short, supporting international student success by giving them the freedom to financially support themselves not only helps the students themselves, in the long run it also helps Canada by nurturing a source of highly qualified future citizens and promoting its reputation in the growing global education market.

Jonathan Worae is a settlement worker with the Elmwood community resource centre in Winnipeg. He holds an MA in Sociology and Criminology from the University of Manitoba. He is interested in the immigration and settlement experiences of newcomers.