Last month, I wrote about how the unsustainable rate of enrollment of international students by Conestoga College has resulted in international students finding themselves in precarious housing situations. The article explains how there is a deep failure to provide international students with proper housing, but in all levels of the government there has been oversight in planning for the growing population of newcomers.
Conestoga College has made exponential profits from their international student enrollment, as they have reported a surplus of $252 million dollars. With the housing crisis, unemployment and inflation in full effect and no end in sight as of now, are the international students to blame?
Unfortunately, it seems like international students are being scapegoated as an increase in anti-international student sentiments and hate crimes reflects that many ignorant people think that these students are to blame. In reality, it is quite the opposite—government policies, corporate greed and a lack of investment in infrastructure to handle the growing population are the real problems.
A new report titled Making a Home in Canada conducted by researchers Dr. E. Alkim Karaagac, Dr. Nancy Worth, Saif Malhas and Matthew Gajewski from from the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment, debunks the myths that blame international students for the housing crisis, unaffordability and the other socio-economic issues in Canada.
This report is the result of a two-year case study that follows international students who have lived off-campus in the Waterloo Region. The report highlights the difficulties that newcomers face when they try to find housing in the Waterloo Region and the several barriers that systemically exist which do not account for the growing number of international students. More crucially, the report emphasizes that international students and newcomers are not the culprits behind the housing crisis, rather they are some of the most vulnerable people who are victims of systemic housing and infrastructural failures occurring at the local, provincial and federal level.
“We found that international students are among the most vulnerable, not a culprit in the housing crisis. Families we spoke with report facing multidimensional challenges navigating local housing markets due to the lack of knowledge, support, and the high need for quality housing. Their invisibility leads to a lack of support and worsens vulnerabilities in the housing market…,” the report states.
Although the Waterloo Region boasts the largest purpose-built student housing market in Canada, it is also one of the least affordable university towns in the nation. Therefore, the housing market for students becomes a fierce and competitive environment, where financial strain is a common vulnerability felt by most international students.
Things become more complicated as people who arrived in Canada as international students are now graduates with families. The report features quotes from international students who share their difficulties with housing in Canada, as one participant shares the stress of raising a family in Canada.
“It’s not easy coming to another country to start all over again. There’s really no flexibility for families when you’re coming to Canada. The conditions are so tight to get a house to rent. I don’t have a job…I’m an international student. And it’s not just that, for example, finding a daycare space for him [child], although I applied way earlier, was so hard. There are waitlists everywhere,” stated Toya, an international student, and participant of the research.
The report highlights how international students, much like other Canadians who are having difficulties with affordability, employment and housing, are also victims of issues that stem from a complex system starting from the federal government all the way down to property owners and academic institutions.
Additionally, the researchers explain that at a municipal level, the lack of enforcement on unsafe and illegal units, as well as unapproved development create scarce options, which stimulate a competitive and dangerous market. Finally, academic institutions do not create enough on-campus housing, while property owners discriminate against newcomers.
When looking into whether the government, institutions or property owners have ideas to solve the lack of housing, they seem to point fingers at one another instead. However, the researchers point to short-, medium- and long-term efforts that can be implemented to remedy the difficulties international students face with housing.
Immediate short-term recommendations include: transparency from academic institutions about housing availability, housing waitlists, realistic cost of living for newcomers, as well as hands- on support to navigate the housing market and community, while also helping newcomers from falling victim to fraud. These short-term solutions fall into the responsibility of municipal governments and academic institutions.
Medium-term solutions require action at the municipal, provincial and federal level. The researchers suggest crackdowns on illegal housing practices such as discrimination and illegal units.
Additionally, there must be a stronger commitment to student housing, either by ensuring that housing is available for all students accepted into a program or by forming partnerships with businesses to provide subsidized housing.
Finally, the rental application process should be revamped to consider international applicants.
Some of the longer-term changes that should occur include purpose-built housing, increased public transportation infrastructure, cooperative housing and subsidizing childcare programs.
Ideally, the recommendations should beconsidered by stakeholders in all levels of government, academic institutions and by property owners. But, as of now, there seems to be no clear-cut plan on how infrastructure will handle population growth in the Waterloo Region.
However, on a humanistic level we must understand that these international students are not to blame when it comes to the under-preparedness and lack of support by our governments, academic institutions and property owners.
Data shows that Canada’s miscalculation on infrastructure keeping up with population growth has become an issue that is impacting the most vulnerable people in our society whether they are international students or marginalized Canadians.
This research serves as a reminder that instead of blaming immigrants, we ought to blame the systems of control who have failed this country. The results of the report highlight how the international students are simply falling victim to a lack of planning by academic institutions and all levels of government.
Overall, there is a crucial need to hold both institutions and the government accountable in fixing the housing crisis and not blame our fellow humans.
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