Cost, permits cause concern for international students as Confederation College strike continues

The president of Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ont. says the school will help its international students affected by an ongoing faculty strike as much as possible, including reviewing tuition fees on a case-by-case basis.

International students are facing some extra stresses as the strike by full-time faculty continues. They're in Canada under study permits, which include an expiration date.

• Ontario colleges reject latest proposals from faculty union
• Confederation College faculty on strike in Thunder Bay, northwestern Ontario

And while the permits can be extended, international students pay high tuition fees.

Tuition, book costs add up

"I've already spent $36,000 ... only for my tuition,"said Noble Thomas, who's from India and studying human resource management at Confederation College. "And almost $2,000 for my books."

This is his second year of studying in Canada he previously attended a different Ontario college and he's due to graduate in December. His tuition over both of those years amounted to the $36,000.

However, his study permit expires December 12.

"In my study permit, there is something called hours of study," he said. "If the strike goes on for more than three weeks, unfortunately I cannot complete [that many hours]."

Thomas said returning for another semester to make up lost classes is a concern, as doing so would cost him several thousand dollars.

"It's like losing that $36,000," he said.

School helps with permit extensions

College president Jim Madder said the school's international student centre is supporting affected international students; the services provided include helping students apply for study permit extensions.

"We have had interactions with Immigration Canada; they're certainly open to these extensions," Madder said.

However, it's not known how long the strike will last, and that makes applying for extensions difficult, as the exact impact on college programs isn't known, either.

Therefore, it's difficult to determine the appropriate length of a study permit extension, Madder said.

As for fees, Madder said "on a case-by-case basis, we'd have to look at them."

No new talks between faculty and the colleges were scheduled as of Tuesday.