The government has issued its response to the CIMM committee report on specific problems facing international students.
Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released their response to the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM); on needed measures to attract, aid, and protect international students coming to, and already in Canada.
CIMM is an internal government committee that studies matters of immigration and citizenship in Canada. They have oversight over IRCC and monitor the federal multiculturalism policy. The CIMM report was written to address the fact that while Canada is a global leader in attracting international students, some students may be placed in disadvantageous and vulnerable situations due to several factors that can be addressed by IRCC.
The report focused on three main objectives in relation to international students:
- Attracting international students to study in Canada;
- Ensuring equity in the International Student Program; and
- Improving service and communication for international students in the study permit and immigration processes.
The IRCC response focused on measures that can be taken, and are already in place to aid in these three objectives; covering each individually with the aim of reducing vulnerabilities and aiding international students through the permit application, study, and settlement process in Canada.
The government recognized that from 2022 to 2023, the number of study permit holders is forecasted to rise to approximately 753,000 international students; while acknowledging the CIMM’s concern that despite increases, applications from certain countries and populations are not given adequate consideration by the department.
- Review the selection process for international students, and evaluate students on criteria more linked to their potential value; and
- Improving client service and communication
Improving service and communication to international students
Many of the CIMM recommendations involved the importance of providing clear and transparent information to clients and stakeholders, including around processing times and reasons for refusals. In reply to these, IRCC has responded by:
- Highlighting the recent hiring of 1,250 new processing staff by late fall 2022 to assist with processing capacity, and publish monthly data on the backlogs;
- Expressing interest in continuing with initiatives like the 2022 pilot program wherein immigration officers proactively released their decision notes along with some temporary resident visa (TRV) applications, at the time of the decision, to ensure transparency and understanding;
