UCGSA Response to IRCC Rule Changes

CALGARY —The University of Calgary Graduate Students’ Association (UCGSA) is disappointed by the federal government’s continued demonization of international students. UCGSA is also additionally criticizing the government’s short-sighted attack on Canada’s innovation ecosystem by including graduate students in their new rules.  

“This is Minister [of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Marc] Miller’s second attempt at blaming international students for the housing crisis,” said GSA Vice President—External Hunter Yaworski. “Instead of addressing the myriad problems he created last time, he’s doubled down on fundamentally harmful rhetoric.”  

“These actions are making graduate students feel like they are being punished for the Federal Government’s own policy failures, and compound already brutal conditions facing international students,” Vice President Yaworskiadded.  

Under the new Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship (IRCC) rules, Canada is expected to see 300,000 fewer international students over the next three years. Importantly, these restrictions will now include graduate students. Additional changes will restrict the ability for students to work in Canada after graduation and limit the number of work-permits available for the spouses of students.  

The Federal Government’s current narrative—which manages to be both patronizing and an exercise in victim-blaming—is that international students are being taken advantage of by post-secondary institutions. These new restrictions are supposed to be a way of punishing bad-faith actors who are driving up the international student population, with what is being viewed by some as questionable post secondary programs outside of Alberta to the detriment of those regions housing stock and the students themselves. 

“All these new policies have done is make international students even more vulnerable, and signal to the world that skilled graduate students who have the ability to contribute strongly to our economy aren’t welcome in Canada,” said GSA President Saaka Sulemana Saaka, who is an international student himself. “The United States has already airdropped billions of dollars into graduate student scholarships and professional development programs. If I was the President of Harvard, I’d be mailing Minister Miller a commission check.”  

UCGSA particularly worries that these restrictions discriminate against students with families. These policies could lead to parents having to separate from the spouses and kids potentially for years. International students are already ineligible for most scholarships and grants, so restricting the ability for spouses of students to find work will drive doctoral or thesis-based master’s students out of the country.  

“A reduction in International Graduate Students means less skilled TA’s or sessional instructors teaching undergraduates,” Vice President—Student Life Nadia Ghazanfari, an international student herself said. “That means less graduate students to support the work of professors. That means less innovative research. This is kneecapping human capital that businesses have gone on record as saying represents a key, irreplaceable part of their research and development.”  

“The Federal Government has already taken away our working hours. They’ve restricted our funding. Now they’re making it harder for us to even study in Canada,” Vice President Ghazanfairadded. “This is ridiculous, how are we supposed to survive like this?” 

UCGSA strongly recommends that the Federal Government refocus its approach to post-secondary education. Graduate students need better sources of funding, increased professional development opportunities to commercialize and internationalize their research, and a commitment from all levels of government to treat affordability concerns more seriously than they have in the past. Importantly, UCGSA echoes statements from post-secondary institutions, commentators, and business groups in emphasizing the importance of graduate students—regardless of where they were born—in driving research and development in the Canadian economy.  

“If our disastrous productivity growth is driving the economy over a cliff,” President Saakasaid, “the Minister just decided to hit the accelerator.”  

“Minister Miller needs to stop punishing Alberta for the mistakes of other provinces,” headded, “because his actions run the risk of harming our universities reputation on the world stage and could result in one of the largest brain drains in Alberta’s history.” 

For media inquires contact:

Graham Sucha

Executive Director UCGSA

gsaed@ucalgary.ca