No basis to blame international students for Canada's housing crisis, University of Waterloo study finds
CBC
There is no basis to blame international students for Canada's housing crisis, a new study by University of Waterloo researchers has found.
The study, led by a team of researchers at the university's faculty of environment, has debunked myths on how international students impact rising rental costs and a lack of available homes across the country. It found that international students are among the most vulnerable people impacted by the current housing crisis.
"What we're seeing is that international students are not the culprits in the housing crisis but the scapegoats," researcher Alkim Karaagac told CBC News.
"They experience very similar challenges regarding the lack of affordable, suitable quality housing similar to other groups — newcomers, low income families in Canada and other students. They face discrimination [and] fall victim to fraud a lot."
Karaagac said that at the federal level, the research found that there are fewer building programs for universities, provincial-level higher education institutions funding is frozen for decades, and there is limited or nonexistent family housing or student housing in general.
"We have seen several levels of sources of housing pressure for international student families," Karaagac said.
In February, a representative with Khalsa Aid Canada told CBC News it had seen an uptick in calls from international students needing food, clothing and a place to live.
The charity helps students struggling to access food, clothes and shelter in cities nationwide. Its director, Jindi Singh, said governments and post-secondary institutions should be doing more to support international students in need.
"We truly feel it's not really our role," Singh said, adding that post-secondary institutions are "making billions out of this situation," but "there's absolutely no wrap-around services for these students, who are left to fend for themselves."
Karaagac said researchers heard from a family of four from the Bahamas who were looking for a rental before they arrived in Canada, but their applications were all being rejected. She said they eventually found an Airbnb and had still been staying there at the time of the interview — for eight months — living out of boxes and suitcases because no one accepts them as tenants.
She said another family from Bangladesh shared how they thought they had rented an apartment through an agency before they arrived in Canada. However, when they arrived they found out that the apartment was already rented out.
"They have been living in the basement of another [family's house] for the rest of their education," Karaagac said.
"Another family from Colombia, they've been asked for so [much] documentation that they can't possibly provide because they're newcomers. So, they were asked to pay six months of rent upfront, which is not legal, but it has become the common industry practice and they had to pay. So, this financial burden, spending entire years saving and borrowing from family or banks has become prevalent."
Karaagac is recommending that at the university and city levels, international students should be provided with guidance and up-to-date information before they embark on their journey.
