In a bid to make life easier for international students studying in Canada, the Canadian Federation of Students has requested the federal government to waive off the 20-hour work limit for international students.
However, as the country has been facing economic challenges for the past few years, the burden of being able to afford living costs has been tough on international students. The economic challenges have led to these living costs rising with the times.
Vice-President of Finance and Administration for the Student Union at Prince Edward Island, Leena Daboo, stated that students have been financially struggling to keep up with the bills, even while working the 20-hour shifts per week.
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In a bid to offer support to international students at the university, The PIE News reported, an initiative had been launched during the pandemic, where, to support students, emergency funds were being distributed, which had been supervised under Daboo. Thecurrent international student regulations in Canada, they are not allowed to work more than 20 hours a week. This has led students to find alternate methods to keep up with the bills.
Bipin Kumar, Canadian Federation of Students representative for international students commented that the Canadian government had temporarily waived off the 20-hour restriction on international students employed in essential services during the pandemic for near about 5 months.
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In the statements from Sean Fraser, the immigration minister for Canada stated that international students play an essential role in Canada. Previously, Canada saw a significant boost to their economy with 352,000 international students contributing CAD 22.3 billion in 2018.
Adding to this,several different financial and economic challenges have been witnessed across the globe, for instance,the Indian National Students Association in the UK also predicted possible financial difficulties for international students.
While Kumar from CFS urges the Canadian government to take up initiatives to help international students, which include waiving off the 20-hour work restriction, the Daboo urges students to reach out to their universities and faculty if they are facing challenges.
Source: The PIE News
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