Health Care for Int’l Students

The Manitoba government recently announced that they are planning to repeal Health Care benefits for international students. Here at Clarke Immigration Law, we fundamentally disagree with this decision and urge Premier Pallister and his cabinet to reconsider this decision.

International Students Benefit Everyone

Our former Minister of Immigration and former profession at the University of Manitoba, John McCallum gave the keynote speech at the national CBA conference for immigration lawyers across Canada in 2016. During that speech, he highlighted the importance of supporting international students. These are highly skilled individuals who have been vetted by our learning institutions and they pay more in tuition for the privilege of studying in Canadian schools. These students, some of the brightest minds in the world, then seek to establish themselves and, possibly, their families in Canada.

Health Care

The Canadian health care system is arguably the best in the world. Doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, health care aides and many other professionals ensure that we receive the best services available. US media just had a field day when Canadian doctors protested that they are being paid too much. Presumably, this would be very unlikely south of the border.

International students are savvy. They look at schools in Manitoba and compare them with schools elsewhere. One of the benefits of coming to our province is the health care benefits. To attract these students, we need to ensure that they know they will be taken care of during their studies.

Long Term Policies

I fundamentally believe that maintaining health care benefits for international students is in the long-term interest of Manitoba. These students spend their summers working and their winters studying. They become settled in the province and they become connected to their communities. With the time that they spend developing their relationships, both personal and professional, they deepen their ties to this province. Keeping talent is in the best interest for the future.

Small Savings for Big Sacrifice

Let’s be honest. Cutting health care for international students is going to save very little on the bottom line. For the most part, these are young individuals with minor health issues. They have already been vetted before coming to Canada. This type of cost-cutting shows a short term perspective. The sacrifice to the province will be significant if international students decide to go elsewhere with their tuition dollars.

We urge the Manitoba government to reconsider this decision. This change in policy is not in the best interests of Manitoba.