International students in Canada face difficulties and stress

International students in Canada can face considerable obstacles and sources of stress. There can be financial strain, including finding affordable accommodation. Finding meaningful part-time work can be difficult. There is also concern about exploitation by employers, landlords and criminals posing as  immigration consultants.

Human Rights Magazine looks into the issue in this episode hosted by Napas Thein, with technical support and outreach by  Jing Xiao.

Human Rights Magazine is produced by The Upstream Journal magazine. The host, Derek MacCuish, is editor of both. If you agree that informed reporting on human rights and social justice issues is important, your support would be welcome. Please rate the podcast wherever you listen to it, and tell your friends about episodes that you find interesting. Why not consider making a financial contribution to help us cover costs?  You are always welcome to email with your comments.

Transcript

Intro – Derek MacCuish:  International students in Canada can face considerable obstacles and sources of stress. There can be financial strain, including finding affordable accommodation. Finding meaningful part-time work can be difficult. There is also concern about exploitation by employers, landlords and criminals posing as  immigration consultants.

Human Rights Magazine looks into the issue in this episode hosted by Napas Thein, with technical support and outreach by  Jing Xiao.

 [00:00:00] 

Napas: They arrived with dreams of world-class education, promising careers, and a new life in Canada. But in 2025, those dreams are confronting a stark reality. With study permit caps reduced to 437,000, a 10% drop from last year, and tightened immigration policies, international students are finding themselves navigating increasingly challenging landscape housing shortages. Limited work opportunities and policy shifts have turned their journey into an uphill battle. Institutions that once welcome them are now struggling with some colleges facing significant enrollment declines in financial strain. Meanwhile, as Canadians face a poly crisis of housing prices, inflation and limited job opportunities for youth international students were the scapegoat and the first to be withheld from making a future in Canada.

Is Canada still the land of opportunity [00:01:00] for international students, or has the promise faded and are we actually making a huge mistake in pushing away the world's best and brightest without actually addressing the issues we are facing head on? In this episode, we will dive into the evolving challenges facing international students in Canada and explore what the future holds for those seeking a new beginning.

Next up we have Simran Dhunna, a member of the Nagel one support network, who is willing to talk to us about some of the experiences of international students.

Simran: We are an organization of international students and immigrant workers who came together in June of 2021 to confront some of the people who exploit us, namely employers, but also landlords, immigration consultants colleges and governments. And the way that we have been doing this over the last couple years, specifically [00:02:00] around the issue of wage theft is by supporting workers to organize their own campaigns against their employers.

I immigrated here when I was three, but I'm also from Punjab, India, where a lot of international students have recently been migrating from over the last several years and really decades. If I hadn't come at the time that I did, I'm sure that my parents would've also sent me here as an international student.

So I really do feel for the generation of young people that has migrated here, not just from India but other countries but many of our members are current and former international students. And in hearing stories from them. It's very different than the image of an international student that Canadians perhaps had 10 or 20 years ago.

Back then, it was the idea that international students are only here for studying. They're coming from well off wealthy backgrounds, and then they leave. But really there's been a shift over the. Last several years where [00:03:00] more and more international students have come here from low and middle income backgrounds, from poor farming families, particularly in rural Punjab and across India at least.

As well as other countries, and this is also coincided with the federal government's, explicit marketing to international students through third party recruiters, but also through the federal government's website itself, where they say the international. Study student program is meant for the slogan study, work, explore, stay.

And so they promote the program as a pathway to a permanent residency and citizenship. And so there's a whole apparatus of recruiters of immigration consultants of companies back home, not just in India and the Philippines and China and Nigeria. Where they also then market and often even mislead international students, that if you do X, Y, z, if you enroll in X, y, Z colleges, most of them, [00:04:00] what are called diploma mill colleges then you'll be able to settle permanently in Canada.

The experience of international students when they come here is right with exploitation, I would say every step of the way. It's a rite of passage and there's really no international student who's come here who hasn't had some kind of. Exploitation in the workplace, whether it's wage theft being paid below the minimum wage, absolutely no hope of receiving any vacation time or benefits.

So there's that. But then there's also a lot of colleges that charge enormous, exorbitant amounts in fees for a very poor quality education. And in more recent years we've been seeing colleges. Turn to other kind of scams or schemes to make students re-enroll, for instance, by mass failing certain students, as we saw at Al Goma College or some of the other colleges.

So exploitation by the colleges and then also landlords. There's a lot of people who have really [00:05:00] horrific housing conditions. Especially in some of the cities being packed, 10, 15 people in a basement. Illegal evictions. Immigration consultants also have been very exploitative, whether it's back home or here.

Last year we did a 18 day encampment in front of the CBSA headquarters in Mississauga to stop the deportation of international students who had been victim to a fraudulent immigration agent who was later arrested. And so we were successful in that, but it just went to show that the exploitation runs deep for international students.

And then of course there are a number of policies that the. Federal government has introduced and changed over time that has used and thrown away international students for cheap labor. And the most recent iteration of that is of course, the current. A group of former international students who've been encamped in Brampton since August 30th because their work [00:06:00] permits are expiring.

These are the same international students have that have done the essential and unsafe jobs to hold the economy up during Covid. And what we're seeing is a shift in immigration policy by our federal government. For cheap boats that, that's really throwing international students under the bus and using them as scapegoats.

Napas: Simran believes that the federal government's abrupt immigration policies reflect a performative crackdown that unfairly blames and exploits international students and immigrants while failing to honor previous commitments. This has shifted responsibility for systemic issues like housing and labor onto those that they once relied on.

Simran: There has definitely been a very sudden shift and change in the policy approach by the federal government that has tried to cut down on study visas, post-graduate work permits, PR quotas, all across the board.

But I think that's also for show. I think it's to cater to the. Segment of the Canadian [00:07:00] population that has been misled to believe that immigrants and international students are the problem.

So I think the way that I see a lot of these policies is that it's it's an invasion of responsibility and it's a blaming and pointing of fingers towards people that they have used and exploited and are now not taking responsibility for in terms of the policies themselves and especially with the postgraduate work permits, I think that the most egregious thing, is that policies, immigration policies are being introduced that fail to grandfather in. Cohorts of students or workers who came under a different premise. So what that means is that fair policies in the kind of policy world mean that the cohort of international students or postgraduate work permit holders or immigrant workers who have fulfilled all the criteria under the previous regime, ought to be eligible for that under that the [00:08:00] previous criteria.

Changing the rules in the middle of the match or even at the end of the match. It's deeply unfair. And it's a real betrayal. 

If they wanna reduce or increase the numbers of international students that come in, our group's approach is more so that the students who are already here, or who've already been accepted through their student visa are the original criteria or the original policy regime, is that still applicable to them? 

Another example is like, for instance, there's new language criteria, English language criteria for international students now, right? So that means now you have. Students who are suddenly scrambling to try to fulfill that. And you have a whole industry of people who wanna make money off of this new policy.

So it's really just exacerbating the exploitation students face.

The other piece is, students who came here in 20 17, 20 18, it was very common place and reasonable to expect that your PR application would be processed within that period of. Work within those [00:09:00] two or three years, there would be enough points coming out, enough draws enough pathways to pr and that was a reasonable expectation.

And I think a lot of students will now say with the way that the CEC draws are occurring with the way that the PR programs are suddenly changing that one year is probably not enough. So there's a lot of layers to that.

And I think like for instance, the 20 hour policy, that was something that was forcing international students who had no choice but to work full-time to pay their four times the domestic tuition fee. That was opening up the possibility for underpaying and exploiting international students.

Napas: Recent data shows that a large amount of international students that are registered for educational institutions don't actually go to classes. Could this mean that some international students might be exploiting the system? Simran believes the motives behind releasing this data is [00:10:00] suspicious.

Simran: I think this is interesting timing for this type of news. At a time when there's a very explicit and intense. Scapegoating of international students as if they're frauds or criminals. 

We don't know the conditions of the people who didn't go to class and how that data was collected. It's possible that a lot of people come here with the perception and being sold, the belief that this international student program, that this college is simply a means to get access to PR eventually and to settle here and work here.

And I think there must be some people who, whether it's they're, they don't have a desire to study or they simply have very difficult economic circumstances that force them to work two, three jobs and they can't study that they might not go to class.

So I don't know the circumstances of people who didn't go to class. But I see that headline and I immediately think, what purpose is this type of story serving the government at this time? And I think it's a purpose that serves [00:11:00] business interest and serves the government's interest in scapegoating international students.

The other thing I also think about is we don't really have that same level of scrutiny for domestic students. Are there domestic students who also don't go to class? Yes. And that we, give that a pass. 

 I think that level of scrutiny that international students face and the way that this narrative is politicized I really, I'm skeptical about that.

Napas: Simran also shares with us some information about recent encampments and the motivations behind the international students gathering together in protest.

Simran: So people on postgraduate work permits started a permanent 24 7 protest in Brampton on August 30th and the main demands there were to end L-M-I-A-L-M-I-A based exploitation, which they in part won in the recent LMA. Policy change that removed the extra CRS points given to lmi. And the second demand is extension of postgraduate work permits for those whose [00:12:00] permits are expiring in 20 24, 20 25.

And the third was a fair PR pathway for all. And so this is happening because the numbers that we know of is that by the end of 2025, there will have been over 200,000 postgraduate work permit holders whose work permits are expiring Because of the delay in the PR application processing over the last three years, it's been nearly impossible for people to have their PR applications already in the queue processed in the, in that time.

And so the people whose work permits are expiring or have expired put up this encampment to make the public more aware, build public support, and to pressure the government. They've been meeting with mps and MPPs and trying to push for those demands.

A lot of the community that was previously, at least in Brampton, hostile to international students, a lot of people have had their views change. 'cause no one would wants to stay in a tent for months [00:13:00] at a time, unless they have a reason to.

Napas: Next up we have Naja, an international student who's willing to talk to us about some of her experiences.

Navya Junejac: I came from India last year. I was pursuing research analyst postgraduate program from Georgian College, and the reason why I was pursuing was because I look myself. In public sector and I want to be a policy research analyst.

And this course really acted as a bridge between my political science bachelor's degree, which I pursued in India . 

I would say I met a lot of great people, intellectual minds, and I got an opportunity to interact with a lot who are working here from a very long time. So that has been great. Some things have been challenging as in to find my first. Part-time job because I had bills to pay. So I was looking for a part-time job.

And that was very difficult because when I came in here, it was January and I think it's [00:14:00] even more challenging to find a job during winters. So I wasn't able to get one until April. Until that time I was fully dependent on my GIC and the money that I bought from my home country. But I feel that.

Something has to be done because if the intake is open, for example, the January intake, which is open for the students, and when it's very much of the knowledge in of all the people that there are, no, not really. Many jobs there. When a student is coming and there is no job at all, and every employer is saying that it's winter trial in May, it's winter trial in April, so then it becomes even more challenging.

There is phone bill there, there's groceries bill, the rental bill, right? So there it cost me around more than $1,200 each month.

So yeah, it was very challenging because I didn't want to ask for money but I wasn't able to secure any [00:15:00] part-time job because there was none in the market.

Napas: Nava Vja talks about how she didn't experience discrimination in Canada firsthand, but does see discrimination through social media.

Navya: There isn't any discrimination on face that I have experienced. The working environment in Canada, in fact for every place that I've worked as of now in Canada, including part-time the employers and the fellow employees are amazing. 

But I have an Instagram page where I post some fun content and one of two of my reels actually got wired and, a lot of people who reside here also got the attention. And in the comment box, I can see that they were questioning my language because I was speaking in Hindi, that is my own country's language, and they were like, you are living here and why are you speaking that language?

Napas: When asked about her thoughts [00:16:00] on Canadian policy and tips for future international students, here's what she had to say.

Navya: They should understand that the study permit processing time for a lot of countries are of months and that they start the procedure a lot of months ahead. So when they get to know some similar kind of information and that this will be implemented very soon, it's very difficult for them to not change everything because a lot of my friends have already paid the tuition fee and now they've got to know that the course will be no longer considered.

So now the college is not ready to, give all the money back. Maybe they will, but not the entire amount. So if they're coming with any new policy, they must assure that for at least coming two years, they'll be no immediate change,

Napas: here's some grounded tips that she's giving to future prospective international students to Canada.

Navya: Don't have a lot [00:17:00] of expectations if you are expecting, then see the facts as well. Now when we have come here, we are very much aware of the CRS scores, the cutoff list.

Everything right? But when we were in a home country, we were not keeping any record of anything because we were in a bubble that we'll go there and one day we'll be able to have PR and everything. But now that we have come here, we have realized the points are too high or we need to learn French, et cetera, et cetera.

Don't be in that bubble. Have expectations only when you are aware of the facts and the data. And second don't think less of Canadians. We are very much equivalent just the if we are just born in another country that doesn't make. Less of ourselves and of our abilities, and we should be very much proud of our own culture because I see a lot of Canadians appreciating other people's culture, [00:18:00] why we are not appreciating us.

I see a lot of people try to change and try to fit in and. That just really cost them on their mental health because they don't feel very confident of what they have to offer and of what they have learned over a period of time. So that is something that I think that every person who is coming can have a change, and that will really have a long impact.

Because if we are happy within, we can give our best, right? 

Napas: Next up we have Vicki, a recent graduate from the Master's of Public Policy Program at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs.

Vicky Zhou: I came to Toronto in 2016 to pursue an undergrad degree at University of Toronto. And then I graduated in 2020 and at that point I was deciding if I should pursue a graduate degree in public policy or law school. So I actually took a little bit longer than a year off to started work [00:19:00] to start working at a law firm. 'cause at that time I really wanted to gauge what the industry, the field is like. 

So I myself, in 2020 when I graduated from undergrad degree, I. I took advantage of the PGWP, which I was eligible for three years of work permit in Canada. So at that time I thought, this is great because now I can start working in different fields and really explore which career path was for me or if I wanted to pursue a further degree.

So that's when I started working for the law firm for close to a year. And then at that time I decided that I do want to get a graduate degree at UFT. So I applied and got in very luckily. So then I transitioned back to a study permit. However, because of that transition that render me ineligible for another PGWP after my grad school. For a lot of international students who come to UFT for the first time for their grad degree, [00:20:00] they were able to get a work permit right after graduation. But even though I've been in Canada for more than seven years I was not able to get a work permit anymore.

So that made my situation really, I'd say, quite difficult, challenging at that time because there's just so many uncertainties and I believed the school at the moment was not really too informed on those policies. So they were not able to provide me with so much advice. So yeah, I'd say for that PGWP policy, I definitely see a lot of improvement that can be done to support international students specifically.

Napas: Next. She talks about her frustrations around not being eligible for the postgraduate work permit, despite having studied in Canada for so long.

Vicky: After graduation, I went ahead to do a lot of interviews with different companies the public sector as well., However, because [00:21:00] of the immigration struggle, I wasn't able to start working, which makes it really difficult because everybody knows international students tuition is really high, very expensive.

Just when I thought that I will finally be able to pay my parents back and at least, contribute a little bit to my family now, then this happened, right? So it was a huge setback. And I had to say, I had to become immediately, like to just become very resourceful and try to see, what are the resources I can utilize and mobilize around me to support myself because eventually I do still see Canada as a home for the future.

I just had to be really quick on my feet and see what I can gather to support my living here. 

 For me, at that time, there were only, there were two options available for me. One is to apply under the Ontario Nomination Program for master's students. However, for that program, it's getting more and more competitive just because the amount of students that are getting a master degree [00:22:00] right now.

And my points were not high enough because even though I worked for the law firm for close to a year, I. I didn't complete one full year, so that gave me zero points in that program. So if there's one thing I could recommend or suggest for that program is to open it for, to look at someone's maybe their tax return, to look at how many hours they've worked because I did work a lot during my student time at UFT.

But those didn't calculate towards the program. So there were a lot of points that I just missed in my application.

Napas: She explains why at a personal level she wasn't able to get the information she needed to prepare for her postgraduate work permit issues.

Vicky: There's just many details and nitty gries into these each person's experience, right? Sometimes you wouldn't known this information until you reached that point. And I think [00:23:00] another factor was because of Covid. Because my original plan was to go into law school or grad school right after undergrad and not use my PGWP at, at all at that point.

So all the schools went online. And at that time I was still paying international student fee. So it just didn't seem reasonable for myself and my parents to think that we're paying like six or seven times higher tuition. But also just getting online education because as we all know we know how important like the personal connection is to us.

So at that time I decided to, okay, I'm gonna use my PGWP and actually start working for a year. So I think there are many factors at play, but the outcome just unfortunately to be. Like not too advantageous. 

Napas: Despite the setbacks, she's still positive about her future in Canada and her ability to continue contributing to Canada's workforce.

Vicky: To be honest, I really value my education and my experience at UFT. So I would say I will have no regret [00:24:00] doing that at all. And also because of the friends and network that I built throughout the year, I would never trade, them for anything else.

But I would have to say if the pathway, the, especially the career and the PR pathway, if they were. Made a little bit easier or smoother for me, I will be able to at least pay back and support myself a little bit faster. I do still see myself building a career in Toronto and in Canada, and I feel like eventually they will pay off.

Napas: She calls on the Canadian government to make improvements to the postgraduate work permit program to better help individuals like her who are interested in contributing to Canadian society after having been in Canada for so long.

Vicky: I'm definitely seeing a lot of people trying to see what are the routes I would still like to drill into P-G-W-P-A little bit more because on the grand scheme, I do really think the PGWP [00:25:00] program makes a lot of sense and it actually, if it works, can help a lot of international students who want to stay here and build a life and build a career to transition to pr.

So there are two things. One is currently PGWP is, not continuous. So for someone like me who just graduated from undergrad, used PGWP once, I can't apply for it or use it for the second time, even after I pursued a second degree. So I think that this continuity does not make a lot of sense because life does happen even to international students, right?

Even if someone might want to start working for a few years to just maybe just to save up a little bit for a second degree, but that make them un. Eligible for another work permit after their second degree. So I think that discontinuity c can be changed. 

I think international students are great candidates for [00:26:00] Canadian jobs because they have already been in the country for a few years.

They lived here, they speak the language now they are super aware of Canadian culture or social norms. So I feel like they make up perfect candidates for Canadian jobs. I think the best way is to utilize these programs that are already in place, such as P-P-G-W-P to make that transition smoother easier and more successful for these candidates.

Napas: Vicky also talks about why the policies were enacted and why there is a growing hatred for international students in Canada.

Vicky: I think it just seems like the quickest fix to a lot of problems that we have in the country right now. A lot of, I've heard a lot of people point to healthcare, housing and kind of blame those issues on international students.

On the surface level, it does seem like a quick fix, oh, so many students came just tell them not to come or. Oh my God, they're already here. [00:27:00] And they're taking Canadian jobs.

Recently I just saw that, a lot of Ontario universities and colleges, they're actually losing a lot of revenue because of the international students. Cut. For example, Centennial College had to cut a lot of the programs that were previously offered for all students, including international students of course.

Because of the lack of funding now. So it really speaks to that international students are funding these. Institutions, but the government isn't funding enough so that when we take out the international students, all of a sudden these universities and colleges are basically just, ru running short on funds.

Napas: On international students being made targets for policy issues like housing and affordability. Vicki talks about why international students were made scapegoats.

Vicky: International students, they are not PR yet, right? They're not Canadians yet. They don't have voting rights. So even if , they have a lot of voices or, they want to raise it, don't want people to hear, but eventually they don't have the voting power.

[00:28:00] And whether people decide to listen to them or, advocate for their issues is really depending on how willing Canadians are to help and support. So that's one. And I think number two is that most of Canadians don't see international students as future potential Canadians.

But the reality is a lot of international students, even my friends around me, they eventually they want to become Canadians. A lot of them get got their PR cards and eventually they did apply for Canadian citizenship. So if we change our perspective, the way we look at international students, it will be much more helpful and beneficial for everyone if we just look at them not as they are here temporarily taking away resources.

If we look at them. As they are potential our future Canadians, let's help them integrate, let's help them so we can all build a stronger Canadian society and economy together. [00:29:00] I feel like that will be a much more beneficial and helpful way to look at this group of people. 

Napas: For people looking to come to Canada, Vicki has the following advice.

Vicky: To be very honest, I still will speak very highly about Canada because of the social fabrics, the diversity, the multiculturalism, all these social aspects in life that I really enjoy.

I would still recommend the country to my friends or families however. Depending on their circumstance, whether they're a student or coming here to work, I would really spend time laying out a plan, immigration plan for them to, I would advise them to not just think ahead in terms of one to three years.

If you're considering moving here, you have to think ahead for at least five to 10 years, because I think the average time to get PR in Canada is. Probably around seven to eight years, if not more. But [00:30:00] dependent on each person's circumstance. So I'd say for international students yeah, plan ahead for at least five to 10 years, really know your the programs and resources that could work in your benefit.

Napas: Vicki also talks about how the current policies are deterring, smart, talented people from coming to Canada.

Vicky: I think brain drain is a huge one. And even just deterrent people who wanted to here in the first place and now they're thinking, is this country even welcoming me at all? I think that is a deterring factor for a lot of people.

I feel like environment feels very different. In 2016. I would think of Canadian immigration system and policies in a much more positive light, but right now I'm still hopeful, but there's just a lot more uncertainties. And I feel like the policies kind of change, every day or every week.

So I will be much more cautious coming here [00:31:00] Now. I'm still hearing, I think just from like speeches and like news here and there, I'm still hearing the undertone from some politicians or leaders.

I'm still hearing the undertones of that. Eventually we will, we still welcome immigrants because we have to recognize that the, the Canadian economy does rely on immigrants, newcomers, and even like seasonal workers laborers, right? So I think the system still runs. On immigrants. So I'm still staying hopeful, but I just feel like for the policy makers, some of them really have to look into stories like this.

And a lot of stories were on that are untold because a lot of people would just leave without leaving their stories here. So gotta understand like why certain people leave, why they're unable to stay getting into those stories to get more, nuances. 

Napas: We spoke with an immigration policy expert who asked to remain anonymous, but what he had to say was too [00:32:00] important to leave out his insights shed light. On the recent immigration policy changes that have left thousands of international students in a state of uncertainty, he pointed to two policies at the center of the conversation.

First, the reduction of the postgraduate work permits or PGWP that we discussed earlier for some college graduates. Shrinking from three years to just one second. A significant reduction in the number of study permits issued by the federal government was discussed. Now, while the intent behind these changes was to crack down on the misuse of Canada's international education system, including fraud by some educational institutions and immigration consultants, the expert believes that the policies miss the real targets.

He said, it's not the number of students, it's the bad actors in the system, shady consultants, diploma mills, and broader policy failures that have nothing to do with the students themselves. He explained [00:33:00] that pgw PS, in theory, serve a good purpose. They help international grads, especially those in the STEM and healthcare fields, but also other industries fill key labor gaps in Canada's workforce.

But the policy shift has made it harder for these students to stay and contribute. When we asked about the labor market itself, what Canada really needs, he pointed out that international students were already struggling to qualify for permanent residency even before these new policies came into effect.

And while yes, diploma meals and housing issues are real, he stressed that those problems predate the pandemic. International students have become scapegoats. He also talked about the provincial attestation letters or ps, a term you might have come across lately. These are required by the federal government to issue study permits, and now there's a cap.

Each institution only gets a certain number. This [00:34:00] has created tension, especially between colleges and universities.

 He emphasized like many others that while there isn't an explicit discrimination against colleges, there's a deeper policy issue at play. And limiting PS has added pressure, especially as provinces now have to decide which schools get them and how many on whether PGWP changes.

Favorite university grads over college grads. He said it's less about fairness and more about labor market alignment Still. The result is that many college grads are now in limbo, so why take a sludge hammer to a system that might need a scalpel? His answer, politics. According to him, the federal government lacked the tools and the data to go after individual bad actors or institutions.

It was much easier to apply sweeping changes. Provinces, on the other hand, have remained fairly quiet. He pointed to an October, 2023, a report that warned that post-secondary education in Canada was already underfunded, but the real story didn't make headlines. Cutting student [00:35:00] numbers did one big change.

He pointed to ending PGWP eligibility for public-private partnership programs or PPPs. These are once the back door for shady colleges and the federal government used that to close a major loophole. But there's a cost. He told us that changes are scaring away. Exactly. The kinds of students Canada wants those who play by the rules with the skills and those who want to build a life here instead is the students who are willing to take risks and even skirt the rules who are managing to stay.

We also asked the expert about immigration consultants, the people who international students rely on to help them navigate the Canadian system. He told us that while immigration consultants are technically regulated on a national level, the actual governance of that regulation is still a serious issue.

If a consultant advises someone to lie or misrepresent information on immigration application, that is illegal, but enforcement gets complicated [00:36:00] outside of Canada. And many consultants are based overseas. In Canada, there are about 11,000 regulated immigration consultants, but abroad, there may be thousands more operating without oversight.

So we asked them, are these ghost consultancies, the unlicensed untraceable agencies at the heart of this problem? His answer, they're a big issue, but not the only one. Ghost consultancies exist because the system allows for loopholes and no matter what rules you create, he says there will always be bad actors trying to exploit them.

So I asked him why hasn't more been done to shut them down? 

He explained that efforts have been made, but the nature of ghost consultancies makes them hard to track. In Canada, immigration applications must be submitted by authorized consultants or lawyers, but ghost consultants, many operating abroad leave no paper trail. [00:37:00] Everything is digital, often exchanged over apps like WhatsApp, and many applicants don't even know that they're being misled.

They don't know the difference between a legitimate consultant and a ghost one. So we wrapped up our conversation with three powerful takeaways. First reforms are overdue. The system needs more transparency, accountability, and cross-border regulation. Second, immigrants are being scapegoated, not just in Canada but globally.

And third. He's still hopeful. Despite everything he says that Canada is by far, far from the worst, and there's still time to get this right.