Courtesy of Barrie360.com and Canadian PressPublished: Jan 29th, 2024

By Nojoud Al Mallees in Ottawa

files from Barrie 360

Post-secondary institutions will be able to apply for low-interest loans to build student housing starting this fall, Housing Minister Sean Fraser says.

The federal government is tweaking an existing program to make universities, colleges, non-profits and private developers eligible for low-cost financing to build residences on and off campus.

“Canada needs more student housing and we’re going to help build it,” Fraser said at a news conference Monday.

The Apartment Construction Loan Program was topped up with an additional $15 billion in the fall, bringing the total funding available to $40 billion.

Monday’s announcement did not add more money to the funding pool available.

Fraser made the announcement alongside other cabinet ministers as the House of Commons returns after a winter break.

The announcement comes as the federal government grapples with a ballooning international student program that has added strain to local housing markets.

More than 900,000 foreign students had visas to study in Canada last year and more than half of them had newly issued permits. That’s more than three times the number 10 years ago.

Of the 12,488 full-time students who attend one of the seven campuses at Georgian College, nearly 6,3000 are international students.

Last week, the federal government announced a two-year cap on international student enrolments that would reduce the number of new permits approved this year by 35 per cent.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said the new cap should help ease pressure on rental costs.

Data from Rentals.ca and market research firm Urbanation showed the average asking rent for December in Canada jumped 8.6 per cent year-over-year to a record high of $2,178 per month.

2) Doug Ford Does Not Want To Raise Post-Secondary Tuition In Ontario

Courtesy of Barrie360.com and Canadian Press Published: Jan 31st, 2024

By Allison Jones and Liam Casey

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday he does not want to raise tuition for post-secondary students, despite colleges and universities struggling financially and a panel that recommended otherwise.

Ford’s government cut tuition by 10 per cent in 2019 for Canadian students and froze it.

A government-commissioned “blue-ribbon panel” recommended the province unfreeze tuition, raise student aid and increase operating grants to the schools.

“I just don’t believe this is the time to go into these students’ pockets, especially the ones that are really struggling, and ask for a tuition increase,” Ford said at a news conference about combating car theft.

The province has not said how it will respond to the panel’s report other than saying it would work with the schools to find efficiencies, something Ford reiterated.

“We’re going to work with our colleges and universities to support them any way we can and drive efficiencies throughout the system,” he said. 

“You know, there’s some classes out there, believe it or not, that have six or seven students. That’s unacceptable.”

The tuition cut and freeze on domestic students combined with low provincial funding forced many schools to look for different revenue streams. 

Colleges in particular vastly increased their reliance on international students, who were not subject to the tuition freeze, as a way to increase revenue.

But the federal government recently introduced a cap on international students’ study permits that will see Ontario’s allotment of new visas cut in half. 

The move was done, in part, to deal with “bad actors” in private colleges that made false promises of citizenship after graduation and some institutions that are allegedly diploma mills.

There has also been a recent surge in international students, which the federal government said has increased demand for housing, of which there is little supply, especially in Ontario. 

The province recently said post-secondary institutions must guarantee housing for international students, but has not explained how that will work.

Colleges Ontario, which represents the province’s 24 publicly funded colleges, said the new cap is already creating havoc as the schools have year-round intake of students. 

The organization said it continues to work with the province on the problems the schools face.

“We recognize Ontarians are very concerned about affordability and the high cost of living,” said Colleges Ontario president Marketa Evans.

 “At the same time, it’s essential for Ontario to invest in its public college students.”

Evans said colleges would like to see a 10 per cent increase in operating grants from the province and the creation of a distinct tuition policy for public colleges “that addresses the long-standing inequities between college and university education.”

Both Colleges Ontario and the Council of Ontario Universities have asked the federal government to cancel or delay implementing the international student visa cap. 

Both have also called on the province to immediately implement the recommendations from the blue-ribbon panel.