Will the Canada Emergency Student Benefit Eligibility Criteria be Adjusted to Include International Students? | Senator Coyle

On May 1, 2020 Senator Mary Coyle asked Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, if the government is considering adjusting the eligibility criteria for the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) to include international students.

Senator Coyle: Like Senator Saint-Germain, my question is about international students. International students, Canadian students, their host universities and Universities Canada are all very concerned, as you probably are aware, that these very legitimate international students who attend our Canadian universities and are present and potential future contributors to Canadian society have been left out of this very important CESB benefit.

David Dingwall, President of Cape Breton University, has said that in 2020 it’s estimated that international students in Canada will stimulate $22 billion in economic activity.

Could you explain why this exclusionary decision was taken — I know you said it’s connected to your criteria for loans and grants — and could you please let us know if you would consider adjusting the eligibility criteria for the CESB to include these important international students who are here in Canada now?

Ms. Qualtrough: Thank you, senator. Let me begin by saying that we do value the contribution of our international students. We know that contribution goes well beyond the walls of the post-secondary institutions that they attend.

I’ve also mentioned — which I think is an important piece of this conversation — that they are eligible for the CERB. So the students who were working and whose jobs and income are impacted by COVID are indeed eligible for the CERB. The international students whose job prospects are for the summer are not. That’s a much smaller catchment.

As I said, we mirrored this benefit on our broader student financial aid policy within the Government of Canada.

I apologize, because I wish I had more time to go into this, but there are significant structural and policy differences between these two benefits, whether it be who is eligible, under what circumstances or who we’re trying to target with these benefits. For the CERB, it was very much workers who were resident in Canada and whose employment prospects have changed. That includes international students.

There was a triggering event: They lost a job, or their job hours were reduced. For the CESB, it’s more anticipatory in that we anticipate fewer job prospects or employment opportunities. It’s almost broader eligibility criteria but with a smaller and narrower group of people who could apply.

I’m happy to have a longer conversation, senator; I’m just wary of the time. However, I can assure you that the decision was very much connected to our other student financial aid policy, wherein international students are not eligible for other financial aid given by the Government of Canada.

Senator Coyle: Thank you very much, Minister Qualtrough. I hear what you’re saying. I don’t necessarily like the answer.

I know we’re anticipating 1 million possible applicants for the CESB. When I asked during a technical briefing about the CERB and student participation there, they said 800,000. I couldn’t get numbers on international students within that, so I don’t know how many international students are falling between the cracks.

Do you have any idea?

Ms. Qualtrough: I can tell you that about 43% of students in Canada were working. I can’t tell you the breakdown among that student population as to whether that’s international, Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Statistics Canada does not gather or desegregate that data that way.

Mr. Flack: As the benefit moves along, we are going to run the Social Insurance Numbers. International students have a different code associated with them. Working with the CRA, we will be able to unbundle those and get you the statistics. But that data analysis is not yet complete.