Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge introduced legislation Thursday to reduce the number of international students admitted to some private universities, following reports that they primarily serve as a route to citizenship.
At a press conference in Quebec City on Thursday, Roberge mentioned an unnamed private vocational school that reportedly saw a 1,392 per cent increase in international student enrollment between January 2023 and May 2024.
“It’s as if education is no longer a social mission or an economic mission, but a business model to sell people Quebec and Canadian citizenship,” Roberge said.
Bill 74, titled “An Act to Primarily Improve the Regulatory System Governing International Students,” would amend Quebec’s immigration law and give the Minister of Education and Higher Education more latitude to restrict the entry of international students. The content is as follows.
The bill would determine whether international students are admitted to a particular university based on certain criteria, including region, program, language, population size, workforce needs, and “government priorities.” It will be.
According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, as of September 30, 2023, there were just over 588,000 non-permanent residents in Quebec, including nearly 124,000 study permit holders; Eighty percent are enrolled in higher education institutions, Roberge said.
“120,000 [international students] That’s too much,” he said Thursday at a news conference in Quebec City, noting the bill would give the government new tools to obtain “more information” before approving applications. did.
Although the 12-page bill does not include a cap on the number of international students who can move to the state, Roberge said the number would certainly decrease.
Currently, international students must obtain qualifications. Quebec Certificate of Approval before receiving a study permit from the state.
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“We really want to keep the program local,” Roberge said. “I am well aware that some programs in the region survive because of the presence of international students.”
Roberge said he hopes the bill will be adopted this fall and be implemented by September 2025.
Christian Blanchett, president of the Université du Québec, Trois-Rivières, is concerned that Bill 74 could infringe on university autonomy by allowing the government to prioritize certain programs.
He said the recent increase in international student enrollment at the university was “mainly in niche areas where a labor shortage was felt in our region.”
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Impact on British universities
The Immigration Minister said he understood why English language institutions were concerned, but insisted the government would not target specific schools.
Last year, the Avenir Quebec government placed limits on the number of students who could enroll in the province’s junior colleges in an effort to combat the supposed “decline of the French language.”
The move was part of the government’s changes to the French Charter, commonly known as Bill 96.
Vanina Maestracci, a spokeswoman for Concordia University, said in an email Thursday that the increase in international student admissions is primarily due to French-speaking universities, which are “capturing recruitment from overseas that is not available to English-speaking universities. He said some of the factors were due to increased government funding and increased tuition fees. International students from outside the prefecture who attend English-speaking universities.
At Concordia University, the number of international students decreased by 15.9% this year, compared to a 0.9% decrease in 2023, according to the university’s preliminary report. University Cooperation Bureau Published in September.
“Now that the bill has been introduced, we hope that the government will consult with universities and consider their specific circumstances,” Maestracci said.
Michel Proulx, director of institutional communications at McGill University, said in a statement Thursday afternoon that international students are helping to attract businesses to Quebec and helping the province “strengthen its competitiveness in the knowledge economy.”
“As Minister Roberge acknowledged at today’s press conference, international students are a vital asset to Quebec,” the statement reads. “The unique experiences and backgrounds they bring to our university will enrich the learning environment for all students, including Quebecers.”
Reduction of non-permanent residents
The bill is part of an attempt to curb the number of non-permanent residents in the province, as the Quebec government battles with the city of Ottawa over a growing number of asylum seekers.
Prime Minister François Legault asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In March last year, the Prime Minister called for full powers over the number of migrants admitted, citing the current 160,000 asylum seekers in the state, but the Prime Minister was shut down.
Legault was also announced in August. Freeze for 6 months For new temporary foreign workers coming to the Montreal area for low-wage jobs.
Legault said while in Paris last week that the relocation of asylum seekers to other states should be “compulsory” and that it was “up to the federal government” to manage it.
He said there are currently 160,000 asylum seekers in Quebec, compared to 96,021 according to federal data.
“Everything the Quebec government is proposing at this point is voluntary for asylum seekers and voluntary for other provinces,” Legault said. “What I want is to see results.”
On Wednesday, Legault told reporters that paying asylum seekers to move elsewhere or cutting off financial aid is “not something we’re considering.”
Federal Immigration Minister Mark Miller told reporters Thursday that compared to Ontario and British Columbia, Quebec is “relatively responsible” for managing international student numbers, but that the province is “relatively responsible” for managing international student numbers. “We have similar challenges in terms of the number of asylum seekers in the country,” he said.
“We said we were going to work together. [Legault] We are focused on ensuring the integrity of our education system is maintained,” Miller said.
