The Department of Immigration is reviewing whether to permit a third of a million foreign students to work full time in Canada, according to a senior manager..According to Blacklock's Reporter, MPs recommended the change, though the jobless rate for school-age Canadians is 10%..“The department is constantly reviewing the rules of our different programs especially with regard to current context, the current context being shortages in the labour market,” said Philip Somogyvari, director general of policy..Testifying at the House of Commons industry committee, Somogyvari noted current rules limit foreign students to working no more than 20 hours a week under terms of study permits..“Is there anything ongoing currently to look at that figure?” asked Liberal MP Andy Fillmore (Halifax), parliamentary secretary for industry. “I would say in general given the labour shortage which we have identified, we are looking as much as possible into facilitation measures that would balance the needs of the Canadian labour market,” replied Director General Somogyvari..Foreign students at colleges and universities total 318,153 by Statistics Canada estimate, mainly from China and India. The jobless rate for Canadians aged 15 and 24 is currently 9.8%, representing 285,000 unemployed students..Fillmore said the 20-hour limit should be repealed. If foreign students wanted to work full time it was not Parliament’s business, he said. “I don’t think it’s the role of the government to act like a parent to foreign students to protect their study time,” said Fillmore..Canada faced a “labour crisis,” said Fillmore. “There are people who really need to be hiring those students,” he added. “There are job vacancies.”.New Democrat MP Brian Masse (Windsor West, Ont.) agreed the 20-hour limit should end. “Those international students pay such high tuition costs most are living in poverty at times, going to food banks or bringing over money just to get by,” said Masse..“There have been increased levels of mental illness, depression or other types of issues,” said Masse. “Some people think they are all rich people coming over. It’s not true. There are a lot of working class.”.Somogyvari said foreign students as a condition of receiving study permits are required to show proof of sufficient funds. “One of the requirements for students to be here is they already have the funds for their studies,” he said..Review of the 20-hour rule follows claims by Immigration Minister Sean Fraser that Canadian employers will never fill job vacancies without record high immigration quotas..“Before the Omicron variant hit us at the end of the year there were 965,000 jobs available in Canada,” Fraser testified May 12 at the House of Commons immigration committee. “We cannot fill those jobs with a domestic labour force.”.“If we want to maximize our economic potential as a country to pay for all the things we enjoy we need to bring more people into our workforce,” said Fraser. The minister on February 15 tabled an Immigration Levels Plan in Parliament that proposed to raise quotas from a record 405,000 last year to 431,645 in 2022, another 447,055 in 2023 and 451,000 in 2024.
