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The Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration has requested the authorities to enact rules to protect and to attract aid for international students in the country.

The CIMM, in its report, addressed that Canada, despite being a global leader w.r.t international students, still present vulnerable and disadvantageous situations for few students due to several factors that can be acknowledged by IRCC (Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada), as reported by CIC news. The CIMM is an internal govt committee formulated to study matters of citizenship and immigration in Canada.

The CIMM report highlighted 03 main objectives:

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  Attracting foreign students to study in Canada.

  
  


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  Ensuring equity in the International Student Program.

  
  


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  Improving service and communication for foreign students in the immigration process and study permit.

  
  

IRCC, in its report, focused on measures that are already established and some that can be arranged to support these objectives.

- Attracting international students:

The govt forecasts that the number of study permit holders will rise to approx. 753,000 foreign students from 2022 to 2023. However, despite spike, applications from certain countries and sections are not treated with adequate consideration by the dept, according to the govt.

IRCC commits to explore expansion of the SDS (Student Direct Stream) to specific African, Asian, and French-speaking nations. The IRCC will also examine the rate of study permit refusals destined for Quebec by forming a working group between IRCC and Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI). It will also maintain and re-evaluate the scope of the NSE (Nigeria Student Express) stream.

The IRCC will also explore the promotion ideas for the transition to PR of foreign students, particularly those with the experience, skills, and language levels necessary in Canada.

- To ensure equity:

The IRCC will continue to include questions related to race, gender, and accessibility in the annual voluntary client experience survey, to get clear idea about the issued faced by the clients based on their demographics. The Disaggregated Data and Analytics Framework (DDAF) can also be established to understand the impacts of any particular phenomenon or policy on a specific group.

The IRCC is also exploring determinants and patterns of social well-being, and reviewing the shortlisting and assessment process for foreign students to improve the client service and communication.

- Improving service and communication:

IRCC has responded on this issue by emphasizing the recent hiring of 1,250 fresh processing staff by 2022 fall to support with processing capacity. IRCC has also committed to work with DLIs (Designated Learning Institutions) to enforce the data of collection of enrolment and status information about foreign students. IRCC has also expressed its interest in continuing with immigration initiatives to ensure understanding and transparency.

Source: livemint.com