​Why Is Canada Limiting Foreign Students?

Why Is Canada Limiting Foreign Students?

为什么加拿大要限制外国学生？

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　　By Gregory Stachel

　　01 February 2024

　　Canada recently announced a two-year limit on the number of foreign students given permission to study in the country. The move is partly to ease a growing housing shortage.

　　Reuters news agency recently reported on some of the details of the plan:

　　What are the details?

　　Marc Miller is Canada's immigration minister. Miller said the government led by the Liberal Party of Canada will introduce a temporary, two-year limit on student visas. That will result in about 364,000 student visas in 2024. The government said that is a cut of 35 percent from the year before.

　　The new proposals will also set limits on postgraduate work permits issued to foreign students. The new limits will likely cause many postgraduate students to return to their home countries.

　　The permits were formerly seen as an easy path to securing permanent residency. People in master's or post-doctoral programs will be eligible for a three-year work permit.

　　However, people who are married to foreign students in undergraduate and lower-level college programs will no longer be able to receive work permits. The acceptance of new study permit requests in 2025 will be reconsidered at the end of the current year, Miller said.

　　Why has the government changed its policy?

　　Canada has become a popular place for international students. It has been easy to receive work permits after finishing study programs in the country. But the increase in international students has led to a shortage of rental homes. This has caused the price of rent to go up. In December, the cost of rent nationwide rose 7.7 percent from a year earlier, government data shows.

　　Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's popularity has decreased partly because of increasing living costs. Opposition Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has taken a lead over Trudeau in public opinion studies. Elections are expected to be held next year.

　　The government has also been concerned about the quality of education offered by some schools.

　　Who will this affect?

　　Canada's government says international students bring in about $16.4 billion to the nation's economy. The new policy will hurt many colleges and universities.

　　Ontario, the most populous area, or province, has the biggest share of international students. Some businesses, including restaurants and retail industries, have warned that a limit on foreign students will create a shortage of temporary workers.

　　For example, restaurants across Canada are dealing with a worker shortage. It is estimated there are nearly 100,000 available jobs. International students made up 4.6 percent of the 1.1 million workers in the food service industry in 2023, an unnamed industry group told Reuters.

　　Canadian banks will gain from the new rules for international students. Each student will be required to have a Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GIC) of more than $15,000. The amount is required for international students to be able to cover living costs. The new GIC is more than double the amount from the earlier policy.

　　Many of Canada's foreign students, about 40 percent, come from India. China coming in second with about 12 percent, official data from 2022 shows.

　　I'm Gregory Stachel.

　　Wa Lone reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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　　由Gregory Stachel撰写

　　2024年2月1日

　　加拿大最近宣布对获准在该国学习的外国学生的数量进行为期两年的限制。此举部分是为了缓解日益严重的住房短缺问题。

　　路透社最近报道了该计划的一些细节：

　　具体细节是什么？

　　加拿大的移民部长是Marc Miller。Miller表示，由加拿大自由党领导的政府将引入一项临时的、为期两年的学生签证限制。这将导致2024年发放大约364,000个学生签证。政府表示，这比前一年减少了35%。

　　新的提案还将对发给外国学生的研究生工作许可设定限制。新的限制可能会导致许多研究生返回他们的祖国。

　　这些许可证以前被视为获得永久居民身份的简单途径。硕士或博士后项目的人将有资格获得为期三年的工作许可。

　　然而，与本科和较低级别学院课程的外国学生结垄的人将不再能够获得工作许可。Miller表示，2025年新的学习许可申请的接受将在当前年度结束时重新考虑。

　　政府为什么改变了其政策？

　　加拿大已经成为国际学生的热门地方。在该国完成学习项目后很容易获得工作许可。但是，国际学生的增加导致了租赁房屋的短缺。这导致了租金的上涨。政府数据显示，12月份，全国租金的成本比一年前上涨了7.7%。

　　总理贾斯汀·特鲁多的受欢迎程度部分是因为生活成本的增加而下降。反对派保守党领导人皮埃尔·波利耶夫在公众舆论研究中领先于特鲁多。预计明年将举行选举。

　　政府也对一些学校提供的教育质量表示关注。

　　这将影响谁？

　　加拿大政府表示，国际学生为该国的经济带来了大约164亿美元的收入。新的政策将对许多学院和大学造成影响。

　　安大略省，人口最多的地区或省份，拥有最多的国际学生。一些企业，包括餐馆和零售行业，警告说限制外国学生将导致临时工人短缺。

　　例如，加拿大各地的餐馆正在应对工人短缺。据估计，有近10万个可用的工作岗位。一家未具名的行业组织告诉路透社，2023年食品服务行业的110万工人中，有4.6%是国际学生。

　　加拿大银行将从新的国际学生规则中获益。每个学生都将被要求拥有超过15,000美元的保证投资证书(GIC)。这笔金额是国际学生能够支付生活费用所必需的。新的GIC是早期政策的两倍以上。

　　加拿大的外国学生中，大约40%来自印度。中国以大约12%的比例位居第二，这是2022年的官方数据显示的。

　　我是Gregory Stachel。

　　Wa Lone为路透社报道了这个故事。Gregory Stachel为VOA学英语改编了它。

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　　这个故事中的词汇

　　postgraduate – adj. 研究生的，指在获得学士学位或其他学位后进行的研究

　　residency – n. 合法的居住许可

　　eligible – adj. 有资格做某事或接受某事

　　rent – v. 租金，你为了能够使用他人的财产，特别是住在他人的公寓或房子中，所支付的钱

　　affordable – v. 能够支付（某事物）

　　retail – adj. 零售的，与直接向客户销售商品供其自用的业务有关