The Canadian government’s change of tune on immigration has sparked a variety of reactions from both international and domestic students. After long boasting its multicultural population and welcoming borders, the federal government announcement last year limited a number of international students from access to education in Canada, and who and where they’re eligible to receive postgraduate permits from (see page 6 for entire timeline). As colleges have been particularly singled out in the federal policy changes, Camosun students are sensing uncertainty about what the upcoming school year may bring, and are left guessing why and how they have been ill-favoured.
With government directions continuously reforming, Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) international director and second-year Business Administration student Polly Tran says international students are stuck in limbo and are unable to produce the future they earned.
“You work so hard, study so hard, and you follow exactly what this country gave to you,” she says. “But then at the end, you feel like nothing, like everything that you put forward and work very hard in order to achieve your goals… it seems like they have to end it… They want to stay here because they feel like [Canada can provide] the great future for their life and their kids.”
Increased frustration with affordability has led many Canadians under the assumption that immigrants are to blame, second-year Accounting student and CCSS pride director Terence Baluyut says. However, tackling immigration may not result in the outcome some Canadians are hoping for.
“I think we are in difficult times, and when problems arise, people look for someone to blame. Unfortunately, the media has fuelled a narrative that singles out international students as scapegoats. These are rooted more in xenophobia than in facts,” says Baluyut. “I saw news once about the stance of Camosun College with the new policy changes of the federal government and I saw a Reddit thread about that in which, unsurprisingly, many of the comments jump on the wagon of blaming international students for Canada’s housing crisis. And what many people don’t realize is that international students are actually holding things together for many post-secondary institutions.”
Baluyut says he has seen the housing crisis first-hand, although he sees it affecting international students significantly rather than what some anti-immigration advocates suggest.
“I find it funny how we’re being blamed for the housing crisis when I know many international students crammed into single rooms shared by six people or living in houses as many as 16,” he says. “And these aren’t exaggerations because these are the lived realities of many international students in our community. And we’re being blamed for rising rents when, in truth, housing policy failures are the real issue, and governments at all levels have created the conditions for this crisis… And this unfair judgment really just adds to the struggles we already face.”
While international students may feel more personally targeted by the changes, all students, including domestic, will see a difference at post-secondary institutions. Camosun’s newly announced restructuring and talk of layoffs are yet to cause any dips in quality at the college, however, many students are still concerned for what may come.
Second-year Arts and Science student Madison Veiszer has already seen the effects of the college’s announcement, she says, brewing anxiety around campus.
“There’s just an unnecessary amount of tension on campus right now around the professors and, of course, international students,” she says. “I know I’ve seen a lot of them have more stress than usual from this. Everyone’s worried for their jobs, which is, as an empathetic person, that’s sad to see.”
Second-year Arts and Science student Mark John Lasser says he’s concerned about the lack of diverse voices, which he says have improved his classroom culture.
“I think it’s going to be unfortunate to lose that diversity in the classroom and differences of opinion,” he says. “I don’t think you would lose it as much in, like, chemistry as you would for perhaps sociology, where that would be more important to have. I can say that in my sociology class, it is definitely nice to have a lot of people speaking about their experiences and how they differ.”
Although many domestic students recognize a decline in international student enrolment is unfortunate, there are still students who believe the federal changes will serve Canadians positively. Baluyut says this sentiment has made campus an unwelcoming environment.
“Personally, in all of my classes, there has been some discussions about this because of the restructuring that Camosun College is trying to do on its organization because of the lack of revenue from international students. And I just hear a lot of my classmates who are local Canadians who have this sentiment in which they say that, ‘Oh, I think it’s just fair because we are facing the housing crisis, and these people are driving our housing prices up.’ And… It’s hard not to feel the weight of those perceptions. Whenever I walk into our campus, sometimes I would think, What do these locals think of me? Do they see me as stealing their jobs? Do they think I am responsible for the housing crisis? Do they resent me for using resources meant to help struggling locals? So these are the thoughts that linger constantly when I’m on campus.”