Quebec has introduced legislation to restrict the number of international students allowed to study in the province.
Bill 74, “An Act Mainly to Improve the Regulatory Scheme Governing International Students,” was presented in the legislature Oct. 10 by Immigration, Francization and Integration Minister Jean-François Roberge.
Foreign student numbers have surged from 50,000 in 2015 to 120,000 this year, an “extraordinary increase” of 140 percent, Roberge said at a press conference.
The government says once adopted, the legislation will allow Quebec to oversee applications under the Quebec Immigration Act and determine the number of students accepted by individual institution.
“Obviously, when we think about the pressure exerted by the large number of temporary immigrants, in the number of foreign students, we can think about public services, health, education, when we talk about students who are younger, we can think a lot about housing too,” Roberge said….