Student groups support the temporary easing of the job limit for international students

The 20-hour workweek restriction in Canada for international students will be temporarily abolished by the federal government from November 15, 2022, to December 31, 2023, in an effort to address the labour shortage. Student organisations welcome the change since it will make it easier for international students to pay their tuition.

Jessie Niikoi, external executive of the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS), is thrilled about this new possibility for international students because of the high cost of living in Victoria. This is actually a terrific decision since it has been so difficult for students to afford items or to live in an affordable environment ever since inflation hit. Therefore, the move to lift the cap on overseas students is a fantastic one. 

Also after years of promoting this reform, Melissa Chirino, the head of the British Columbia Federation of Students (BCFS), is looking forward to it as well. She believes that for overseas students, supporting oneself and selecting a workplace they feel safe in is a terrific first step in the right direction. 

The decision also came after the higher authorities realised that there have been instances in the past where international students have worked undercover and ended up getting deported, but now since they are able to work more than 20 hours a week, they are able to support themselves in another country and feel secure doing so.

Niikoi also has concerns about how students would balance their education and work lives because some people may start to put more emphasis on their jobs than on their studies. The government will examine the potential effects on the economy and education.

Even though the 20-hour workweek restriction is being lifted for a year, the BCFS will continue to push for this change to be made permanent as well as legislation to control tuition prices for overseas students.

Chirin on the other hand thinks to continue to advocate to make it a permanent thing. Even though a change has been made, the group will continue to raise this issue because it has been one of the requests to the government. They believe that keeping it in place after this year to see how things go wouldn’t be beneficial for anyone. 

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