French-speaking CEGEPs and universities located in the Quebec region are the biggest collateral victims of the high refusal rates of foreign students by Immigration Canada, according to an analysis of the most recent data compiled by The duty. While the massive rejection of students from French-speaking Africa is decried these days in Ottawa, several players in the education community are trying to explain the effect on their “natural clientele”.
Among the fifteen or so Quebec universities, it is those of the Université du Québec (UQ) network, which includes all those located in the regions, which are the most penalized by the refusals. Over the past three years, the rejection rates for study visa applications made by international students destined for one or other of these establishments have often crossed the 60% and even 80% mark. . As for English-speaking universities, they have much lower refusal rates.
The record of the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR) is eloquent. Last year, 79% of the 9,000 students who applied for a study permit received a negative response from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). In 2020 and 2019, the refusal rates were 88% and 78% respectively.
“When I look at our recruitment pools, it’s France, Belgium and French-speaking African countries,” said Christian Blanchette, rector of UQTR, to explain the phenomenon. Students from French-speaking Africa have the highest refusal rates for a study permit, which go up to 90%, as reported by The duty last November. With 2,334 foreign students admitted to UQTR for the year 2021-2022, registrations are however on the rise. “But we are deeply sad to think that we could welcome even more. »
Like UQTR, the University of Quebec at Rimouski (UQAR), which admits many students from French-speaking Africa, has seen more than 70% of its 2,000 foreign students have their visas refused. This is because UQAR has experienced an explosion in admissions requests from Algeria, which rose from 300 to 2,200 last year, explains Benjamin Simard-Jean, head of internationalization.
However, since 2019, the rate of refusal of study permits for Algerians has been among the highest and is close to 80%, according to IRCC data. “Of the approximately 2,000 from Algeria, we only had 20 who came,” said Mr. Simard-Jean. “We do not want to say that what is happening is 100% the fault of IRCC, but we ask that it be treated fairly, as for those who come from China and India. »
CEGEPs in the region penalized
At the college level, the study permit refusal rates would also be higher for establishments located in the regions. The Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue has encountered refusal rates of more than 75% in the past three years. The rates exceeded 60% for the CEGEPs of Trois-Rivières and Chicoutimi. On the other hand, some CEGEPs in the region had very low refusal rates last year, such as those in St-Félicien (17%) and Matane (5%).
The director of international affairs at the Fédération des cégeps, Francis Brown Mastropaolo, calls for caution when it comes to comparing Montreal cégeps to those of other regions of Quebec. In particular because CEGEPs in the regions are more active in recruiting abroad and are therefore more exposed to refusals.
However, according to IRCC data analyzed by the Federation, foreign students wishing to join the college network are more likely to be refused for their study visa than those at the university level. He cites the example of Morocco, for which the refusal rate is 55% at the college level, but only 35% at the university level.
“There is a real problem with our refusal rate [pour les étudiants] from French-speaking countries, believes Mr. Brown Mastropaolo. It is higher than in the rest of higher education. Is it because some people don’t know what a cégep is? »
Thursday, before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said he was open to “producing a document” that would explain the operation of the Chinook system, an artificial intelligence tool. which processes certain requests and which many accuse of discriminatory biases.
The minister is also not closed to the idea of opening an immigration ombudsman position, a suggestion by Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Duceppe-Brunelle. If the latter recognizes the sincere will of the department, he deplores the attitude of his officials, who do not seem to want to recognize the existence of the problem. “The biggest problem is precisely that we are told that there is no problem. You have to be able to name it to be able to set it. »
With Sandrine Vieira