International Student Differential Fees
While all students in Canada have faced dramatic fee increases over the last decade, tuition fees for international students have become particularly burdensome.
After a decision by the provincial government in 2002, the differential fees charged to international students began to rise dramatically for the first time since they were allowed in 1995. By September 2008, undergraduate international students in Manitoba were paying 100 to 230 percent more than their Canadian counterparts. These high differential fees are an unfair burden and a barrier to post-secondary education for international students. Ultimately, such fees will threaten Canada’s ability to attract and retain the skills base and ideas needed to prosper in the future.
Governments and post-secondary institutions know that high tuition fees are unpopular with students and their families. However, because international students and their families have limited political influence, governments and institutional decision-makers see them as an easy target for tuition fee increases.
The federal government needs to restore funding for post-secondary education to the provinces to reduce the incentive for universities and colleges to rely on tuition fees as a means of generating revenue. In the meantime, Manitoba must end the practice of charging differential fees and expand the freeze and fee reductions to include international students.
The challenges for international students go beyond tuition fees. Despite the many contributions they make to Manitoba’s tax base, culture and economy, international students also face challenges in accessing health care and work. While students won a recent victory in federal policy when international students were granted the right to work off-campus permanently, they still have to pay more than $425 per year for basic health coverage. The Canadian Federation of Students is campaigning to have the Government of Manitoba implement the same policy as exists in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, where international students have free access to Medicare, just as Canadians do.