Auditor-Generalpläne Untersuchung des internationalen Studentenprogramms

Oh, I will look forward to this report – next year.

However, I really wonder how much of the story just the federal AG can report on. The federal government was definitely part of the problem, but so too were the provinces. I don’t believe the federal AG has the authority to ‚probe‘ the federal government’s dancing partner.

Further to my concern, I can’t help but notice that the article doesn’t mention the provinces at all.

> The increase in the number of international students in Canada raised concerns about the type of institutions that were accepting them and the quality of education students were receiving. **Colleges, including private career colleges,** were particularly scrutinized for rapidly expanding their foreign-student admissions. Postsecondary institutions benefited financially from admitting more international students, because their tuition rates are much higher than the ones charged to domestic students.

Who is responsible for post secondary institution funding? Who is responsible for the priorities of PSIs? And then the author has the gall to add this content:

> Mikal Skuterud, an economics professor at the University of Waterloo who was a vocal critic of the previous Liberal government’s immigration policies, said there are **many elements of the international student program the Auditor-General could look at.** That includes the **cap on study permits** and pathways to permanent residency. Mr. Skuterud said the federal government responded with a blunt tool – **caps on permits** – to the influx of students coming to the country, but that it’s unclear how Ottawa plans to proceed with the program. “In that sense, it would be extremely valuable to have the AG look at this and provide some input,” Mr. Skuterud said in an interview.

Like yes, that is the only part of the system that federal government has any influence over. The federal government controls just one part: Who can get into the country. If Ontario goes to the colleges and says „*I won’t let you charge Ontarians more, but you can admit as many international students as you want and charge them whatever you want*“ all the federal government could do is set caps on study permits.