e-1542 (Employment)

Petition to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

• Career colleges are post-secondary institutions, regulated by provincial governments, in existence since the early 1800s, and delivering education and training to over 150,000 students in Canada;
• The Post-Graduate Work Permit Program is operated by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada pursuant to the Immigration and Refugees Protection Act;
• International students attending regulated career colleges, outside of Québec are ineligible for the Post-Graduate Work Permit Program;
• International students who attend regulated career colleges are at a disadvantage, compared to other international students attending public institutions, due to their ineligibility to access the Post-Graduate Work Permit Program, which may be seen as discriminatory against these students and regulated career colleges;
• Giving access to the Post-Graduate Work Permit Program to international students would benefit Canada and help our country attain its objectives in attracting a qualified workforce for the future;
• Sections 200 and 205 of the Immigration and Refugees Protection Act provide the Minister authority to implement a Post-Graduate Work Permit Program but not authority to discriminate against regulated career colleges; and
• A list of designated learning institutions has been developed, with guidelines from the federal government and the provincial governments, identifying regulated colleges able to receive international students.