Kevin Weaver, president and CEO of Georgian College, has reacted to Immigration Minister Marc Miller's announcement of a two-year cap on international student admissions.
"As president, I am disappointed that the government has introduced these policy changes, clearly without consultation to understand the far-reaching and damaging impacts that will follow," he said in a statement released by the college Thursday morning.
"At Georgian, we are concerned about what the cap will mean for students, local employers and our communities. Governments must work together and meaningfully consult with public colleges and students to ensure the implementation of the new measures does not have unintended negative consequences."
The government is hoping the cap will give the federal and provincial governments time to curb a system that they say is taking advantage of high international student tuition while providing, in some cases, a poor education.
In the cap plan, there will be a 35 per cent overall reduction in new study visas this year, though some provinces, including Ontario, will see a reduction of international students by 50 per cent or more.
Miller says the federal government will work with provinces, which he says have not moved to fix the problem as quickly as he would have liked.
The announcement seems to have caught Georgian College officials off guard.
"It did come as a major surprise — hence the disappointment — that a major change (that) will have far-reaching impacts was done without consultation with the sector, so that is worrisome," Weaver said during a phone interview Thursday.
The effects the plan will have on the college are not yet known, Weaver said.
"We know there will be impacts ... There (are) more questions than answers at this point and, at this point, we expect a reduction in enrolment and a reduction in revenue, but it's too early to tell what those impacts will be," he said.
Dikshant Thukral, president of the Georgian College Students’ Association at the Barrie campus, is from India and is enrolled in a computer programming and analysis course.
"As I have seen a number of international students, I can speak about them, that they have dreams of coming abroad, and they love to come to Canada to study here and make a successful career," he said.
"By doing this cap, I think a lot of students will be disappointed as they cannot pursue a great career over here. The government has to do it because there is a lot of challenges faced by students here, but I don't think it's a great decision to remove it by 50 per cent."
As for the accusation by Miller that some schools amount to "puppy mills" churning out graduates, Weaver is clear about Georgian's mission.
"We truly focus on quality education and an excellent student experience, and that’s always been our priority," he said.
"If there are others in the province and across Canada that are not upholding that end of the bargain and operating with integrity, then, certainly, I support the government trying to rein those in."
Weaver stressed the colleges are collaborating as a sector, hoping to make sure the implementation of the cap plan is as seamless as possible.
"We are focused on our current students first and foremost, and then we want to make sure that we can support prospective students that want to study at Georgian," he said.
Barrie and the surrounding communities are sure to feel an impact due to a decrease in the number of students calling the area home, he added.
"International students are tremendously important to the communities we serve, to the labour market. They live in our communities, they work part-time jobs in our communities, and many want to stay after graduation and work," he said.
"They are tremendously valuable to us for social and economic impact."
Weaver feels international students are also critical to the health of the school.
"While this is targeted specifically at international enrolment, the way our colleges work — in particular, Georgian, with seven campuses — we are able to offer the breadth and depth of programming that we do because we have a mix of domestic and international students that makes some of those programs viable," he said.
The potential reduced international enrolment numbers will affect some of the program areas and it will be a struggle over time if the number of international students in them fall from their current levels.
The college states international student enrolment grew 10-fold between the 2012-13 and 2022-23 school years. Georgian has 12,488 full-time students, including more than 6,300 international students.
There is also fear some post-secondary institutions may face insolvency due to the new cuts.
"Georgian is fortunate at present day. We are in a strong financial position," said Weaver.
However, on the subject of continued school expansion, all he would say is, "We are in an assessment on a variety of things."
"We have been an agile and innovative institution. Team Georgian will work through this, and we will continue to deliver."
