The Canadian federal government says that ’’there is still work to be done‘‘ regarding the processing of permit applications submitted by French-speaking students in African countries, but it adds that the acceptance rate rose this year to 35% after being 27% last year.

’’We recognize the enormous social, cultural, and economic benefits that international students bring with them to Canada and Quebec‘‘, said the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Canadian Citizenship, Marie-France Lalonde, in the House of Commons yesterday, adding ’’we are doing our best to facilitate the entry of our students‘‘.

Quebec is the only Canadian province with a French-speaking majority.

The federal government rejected many foreign students accepted into Quebec universities, as it has doubts that they will return to their countries at the end of their studies, says with regret the ’’Quebec Institute‘‘ (IDQ), a non-governmental research institution, in a report published yesterday.

According to the report, the federal government rejected nearly 72% of African applicants despite obtaining acceptance from Quebec universities in 2021 as well as approval from the Quebec government.

The report’s authors recommend the federal immigration ministry ’’carry out an assessment of international students based on their potential and value to Canadian institutions and communities and not according to their country of origin‘‘.

’’This government is shattering dreams without any justification other than the African origin of these students. There is no logic behind that!‘‘, said the Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, who serves as Vice-Chair of the Citizenship and Immigration Committee.

The federal government had acknowledged last year the existence of ’’racism in Canada as well as within (the Canadian Immigration Ministry)‘‘, in response to a report by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on preferential treatment in employment and admission rates for foreign students in Quebec and across Canada.

According to researchers at the ’’Quebec Institute‘‘, the decisions made by the federal government do not align with its goals.

’’We see that nearly half of the candidates accepted by Quebec universities who meet all Quebec requirements are denied a study permit that allows them to stay in the country‘‘, says the Director General of the ’’Quebec Institute‘‘, Amina Braham, who participated in drafting the report.

The report adds that the rejection rate has not only increased in recent years, but it is higher in the province of Quebec than in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia.

The research center asked the immigration ministry about the reasons for the refusals, and the low likelihood of returning to the country of origin was the main reason mentioned in the response.

These reasons do not align with the federal strategy and the Quebec strategy, says Braham.