Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) wants Ottawa to hit pause on a swath of measures aimed at stemming the influx of international students.
CICan president Pari Johnston published an open letter last week, expressing her concerns after the feds announced post-graduate work permit eligibility would be limited to spouses of students in master’s degrees and some foreign workers in sectors dealing with a labour shortage.
Johnston said the changes “single out” public schools and will force administrators to “develop new, in-demand programs.” She warned existing programs that are “no longer financially sustainable” could be cut, hurting international and domestic students.
Johnston wants to see Ottawa stay away from such a “top-down approach.”
“There is time to correct the policy,” the statement said.
“Until then, they need to be put on hold.”
Johnston added the measures won’t allow schools to be responsive to the changing needs of communities, with administrators instead forced to “prove their programs align with national labour market needs” set by the feds.
The criticism comes at a pivotal time for Immigration Minister Marc Miller, who has promised to drop international study permits by another 10 per cent over the next two years. Permits were already pared down by 35 per cent this year, though the new plan will further cut that to 437,000 in 2025 and 2026 — about 48,000 fewer permits than the 2024 numbers.
