Foreign Students Fear their Educations are in Jeopardy

Labour dispute is causing confusion and stress for Canadian post-secondary institutions and foreign students alike.

Foreign Service workers have stopped working at fifteen of the busiest Visa centres around the world, wreaking havoc for foreign students and causing uncertainty for Canadian post-secondary institutions who now cannot calculate the number of foreign students who will be attending in the fall.

With only a month to go before returning to class, foreign students are in a state of limbo, unable to acquire the student visas they require to enter Canada. Foreign Service workers have walked off the job in cities like London, Beijing and Cairo, which are home to some of the busiest Visa processing centers.

Canadian colleges and universities are unable to determine how many foreign students will arrive in time to begin their studies, and are dealing with frantic calls from students who are afraid the delay will jeopardize their education.

Considerable Economic Impact On Institutions

The economic impact of these delays is weighing heavily on post-secondary instructors, administrators and board members: if the labour dispute is not resolved quickly, these institutions will lose tuition and other fees, while being  unable to fill now-vacant seats.

Patricia Kerth, Senior V.P. of Finance and Administration at St. Lawrence College, says foreign students contribute $1.6 million in tuition fees at St. Lawrence College alone. These students, she says, are concerned that if their arrival is delayed, it may be difficult or impossible for them to catch up with their classmates.

“Not only does not getting a Visa mean some foreign students won