The Government of Canada has rejected a proposal to limit the number of study permits given to international students from countries with high asylum claims, citing Charter implications. The suggestion is one of 10 that were included in a parliamentary committee report tabled earlier this year by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. Reactions were reportedly mixed and centred largely around India, the largest source of Canada’s student asylum claims. India’s High Commissioner to Canada Dinesh Patnaik called on Canada to “crack down” on student immigration abuse in a recent interview, while the Canadian Federation of Students and the World Sikh Organization of Canada stated that they supported students’ rights to claim asylum to escape persecution.
