A Canadian food bank in Vancouver has decided to turn away international students in the first year of college. The decision comes amid a record number of people accessing food banks in Canada against the backdrop of high food prices and rising unemployment. The Greater Vancouver Food Bank has been slammed for its move to deny free food to new international students.
A large chunk of the international students in Canada are from India.
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank argues that Canada's policy for international students requires them to have 20,635 dollars in addition to paying for travel and tuition. That money, the food bank says, should see them through the first year.
Canada more than doubled the cost-of-living financial requirement for international students from January 1 from 10,000 dollars to 20,635 dollars. The amount was revised after two decades, and will be adjusted yearly now based on a Statistics Canada benchmark for living costs.
The cost of living in Canada has increased massively and a record number of people are now dependent on food banks that offer free food.
Annual data released by Food Banks Canada showed over two million visits by people to food banks in March 2024, according to the Canadian Press. This was double the monthly visits five years ago in March 2019, and 6% above last year's numbers, which was an all-time high too.
The tapping of food banks is because of high inflation and housing costs, and "insufficient social supports are driving poverty and food insecurity".
Canadian media quoted Food Banks Canada CEO Kirstin Beardsley saying that food banks were being pushed to "the brink".
Jaskaran Singh, an international student activist with Team We Care Canada, called Greater Vancouver Food Bank's decision "awful", according to City News Vancouver.
Singh said the policy made life harder for students who were likely to lack resources and support in a new country.
The move has also sparked a vigorous debate on the social media platform Reddit.
"The amount of funds international students need to show to get a student visa is much lower than the actual cost of living in Vancouver," wrote a Reddit user.
"Imagine 18-year-olds who have never been to Canada before, landing here and realising that the cost of living is outside their budget, and it is nearly impossible to find a part-time job these days," the Reddit user said.
The argument put forth by many is that the food banks in Canada are funded by Canadian taxpayers and meant for poor citizens. International students, who are funding their own education in Canada, shouldn't be allowed to tap into these resources because they are the last resort of the needy.
However, there are counter-arguments to that too.
"City food banks [in Canada] are funded by taxpayers' money. UBC food bank is a campus resource and partly funded by international students' tuition and fees. If they are contributing to funding it, they should be able to use it," wrote another Reddit user, referring to the food bank on the campus of The University of British Columbia.
For years, critics have argued that some colleges are providing foreigners with inadequate education while giving them a chance to get visas to work in Canada and eventually immigrate.
That is what lures most Indian students to Canadian private colleges, despite these institutions charging international students three to four times the fees they charge local students.
Facing backlash from citizens over lack of housing units and stress on healthcare facilities, Canada has put cap on the number of immigrants that it would allow. For now, international students, like Canadian citizens, are reeling from high inflation and at times rely on food banks.
