Immigration Minister has ‘some very serious questions’ for Sault College, Algoma U

Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship is in Sault Ste. Marie Thursday to discuss immigration issues with several local organizations.

Meetings with the presidents of Sault College and Algoma University are on Miller’s agenda after the federal government’s Jan. 22, 2024 announcement of a two-year cap on international student admissions.

Both Sault College and Algoma University rely heavily on international student enrollment.

The federal government had “some very rational reasons” for its decision to introduce the cap Miller told SooToday in an interview Thursday morning.

Miller suggested that colleges and universities across Canada take in international students who are simply seeking asylum in Canada, stating that close to 10,000 international students have applied for asylum over the last three years in Ontario alone.

“That is not the sign of a healthy system. Algoma University and Sault College are not exempt from that analysis. No one is innocent here. I’m going to have some very serious questions for them,” Miller said.

Algoma University has over 7,000 students enrolled at its three campuses: the Sault, Brampton and Timmins. Its Sault Ste. Marie campus has approximately 2,400 students enrolled, including over 800 international students.

However, data provided to Village Media's The Trillium from the federal immigration ministry shows that in 2023, Algoma University was approved for 9,329 international study permits - the most of any university in Canada.

Locally, Sault College has approximately 2,300 students enrolled, including 1,000 international students. A further 2,800 students attend classes at TriOS College in the Greater Toronto Area as part of a private-public partnership between the two schools, many of them international students.

Of greatest concern to Sault College is that students at its partner campus will no longer be eligible for a post-graduate work permit though students at the Sault campus will.

That will lead TriOS students to enroll elsewhere and lead to a loss of $40 million for Sault College.

That’s approximately one-third of the college’s $125 million budget.

The federal government’s two-year cap on international student admissions stems in part because of ‘bad actors,’ a term Ottawa has used to describe unethical colleges that exploit international students with high fees while not delivering quality education.

Miller did not suggest that Sault College’s partnership with TriOS College falls into that category but did criticize the provinces for not being vigilant regarding private-public partnerships.

“We have seen some really bad habits in the system,” Miller said.

“No one’s innocent in this. The federal government has its responsibility. I think in Ontario we’ve seen enough Auditor General’s reports to know exactly where a lot of the responsibility lies and it’s squarely in the hands of the Ontario government that has consistently underfunded these institutions and allowed a number of designated learning institutions to run wild on these international students that they’ve gotten. There is a healthy discussion to be had on the excessive dependency on these students and how they are welcomed, trained and integrated into the job market if they choose to stay here.”

“The public private partnerships are the ones that have had the least regulation along with private institutions and they are ones where some of that dependency has been excessive. You can ask yourself why do these institutions have outlets in Brampton? I think that is a serious question. It’s a head scratcher, frankly. The motivation obviously is financial in part,” Miller said.

Miller said provincial governments will be announcing the number of international students they want to take in for the 2024-2025 academic year.

“We’re hoping the Ontario government is responsible in its allotment. It’s clearly Ontario that needs to announce that, hopefully based on merit.”

Miller was asked what action Ottawa would take if provincial numbers of international students exceed its international student cap.

“That’s a discussion for later between us and the provincial government,” Miller replied.

Miller said he is aware of the Group Health Centre’s de-rostering of thousands of patients and the call for foreign-trained doctors to be licensed to practice family medicine in Ontario in a more expeditious manner.

“We have to make sure that we’re properly coordinating and convening and providing provinces with the resources not only financially but physically in terms of able, trained people that can serve the interests of residents of Sault Ste. Marie and across Canada, where the healthcare crisis is a reality,” Miller said.

He said that BC and Alberta have taken steps in cutting red tape to get foreign-trained doctors licensed to practice medicine and added that other countries such as Germany license foreign-trained doctors quicker than Canada.

Miller referred to the federal government’s February signing of a $3.1-billion health accord with Ontario.

“This is very much a job of bringing the horse to the water but making sure that people have the credentials and the certifications they need really is provincial. You can cut the cheque obviously but these doctors don’t get trained and qualified overnight. When it comes to foreign credential people they have to requalify and that’s something that’s entirely within the jurisdiction and the obligation of provinces,” Miller said.

“I won’t be cynical and wash my hands of it and say we’ve done our job. If we need to do more they (the provinces) need to step up and tell us what exactly.”

Miller will also be meeting with officials at the City of Sault Ste. Marie’s Local Immigration Partnership (LIP), Sault Area Hospital, Tenaris and JD Aero in regard to how immigration can meet their staffing needs.

Miller’s visit to the Sault follows an appearance he made in Sudbury on Wednesday, announcing that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is introducing a new immigration pilot program to support rural and Francophone minority communities.

The full text of a March 6, 2024 news release regarding the new immigration pilot programs to support rural and Francophone minority communities follows:

March 6, 2024 - Sudbury, Ontario - Rural and Francophone minority communities are critical to Canada’s long-term growth, and regional immigration plays a key role in strengthening their economies. In particular, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) has been successful in connecting businesses and employers in remote communities with the skilled newcomers they need to thrive.

That is why today, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced new pilots for rural and Francophone minority communities, as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) continues work toward creating a permanent rural immigration program. These are the Rural Community Immigration Pilot and the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot.

The Rural Community Immigration Pilot will launch in the fall of 2024. It aims to ensure that rural communities continue to have the ability to access programs that address labour shortages and help local businesses find the workers they need. It will provide pathways to permanent residence for newcomers who can help to overcome critical labour job shortages and want to live long term in these smaller communities.

Modelled on the success of the RNIP and as part of our Francophone Immigration Policy, we are also launching the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot in the fall of 2024. The pilot will focus on increasing the number of French-speaking newcomers settling in Francophone minority communities outside of Quebec and will help ensure the economic development of Francophone minority communities, while also helping to restore and increase their demographic weight.

IRCC will open the community application process this spring to select communities who will participate in the pilots and will share more details in the coming months.

As we work to establish RNIP as a permanent program, these new pilots will help attract and retain skilled foreign workers in rural and Francophone minority communities, contributing to their economic and linguistic vitality. IRCC looks forward to continued collaboration with these communities as we work together to strengthen our immigration programs.