ALERT
Ottawa, Ontario June 10, 2024
International Students Causing Political Unrest in Canada
It is the practice of Canadian universities to enroll foreign students to study here. This is of benefit to the universities for financial reasons, and also a benefit for the students to later enable them to better assist in the development of their home countries. Such students are issued student visas (Study Permits) to study in Canada temporarily. Study Permits come with terms and conditions, including obeying the law and staying in school—studying!
Unfortunately, in recent months, some of these students, although only guests in this country, have become engaged in political activity, and in doing so are breaking the law, no longer in class studying, and thus violating the terms of their Study Permits! Their demands include that Canada, and the educational institutions which they attend, acknowledge and accept their cultural political “norms”, such as hatred of Jews, the genocide of Jews living in Israel, and the delegitimization, isolation, and destruction of the Jewish state.
A student visa does not extend any rights to foreign students to participate in political unrest in Canada, let alone break the law in doing so. Nonetheless, these students are engaging in unlawful activity at a number of levels: participating in antisemitic protests on the streets, intimidating Jewish establishments and communities, and participating in the closing of classrooms and buildings at their universities, thus denying other students the ability to pursue the education for which they have paid tuition. Further, these foreign students have trespassed on university campuses by erecting antisemitic encampments, and harassed, threatened and intimidated Canadian students of Jewish faith who have a right to attend these universities in a safe environment.
Foreign students who abuse their student visas by provoking political unrest in Canada, and violate Canada’s Criminal Code by provoking hate, engaging in the harassment and intimidation of Canadians no matter what their faith affiliation may be, and calling for genocide against Israel, should be suspended from the universities, their student visas revoked, and then deported. Canada does not need their intimidating and lawless provocations, their expression of views that are antithetical to Canadian values, and their threat to the safety of many of our fellow citizens.
Further, such students should not, under any circumstances, be granted permanent resident status in Canada, which is the usual backdoor entry to Canada made by foreign students after graduation.
Canada can no longer tolerate student guests in our country who are not endeavouring to adopt, or at least respect, Canada’s civic values of respect for law and peaceful assembly. This is an important teaching opportunity to show foreign students and their enablers a lesson about the consequences of bringing their sectarian hatred and violence to Canada.
Action Required
- Please write the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, demanding that the government enforce the terms and conditions of student visas and that the Study Permits of any foreign students involved in these demonstrations be revoked. Miller can be reached at:
Marc Miller
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
(No postage required)
Email: Marc.Miller@parl.gc.ca
- Please write to the Presidents of these eleven Canadian universities where the political agitation is occurring and demand that they suspend such students and enforce their own university’s policies with respect to peaceful demonstrations and campus safety. The presidents and the universities are as follows:
University of British Columbia
Benoit-Antoine Bacon
President and Vice-Chancellor
7th Floor, Walter C. Koerner Library
1958 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
Email: presidents.office@ubc.ca
University of Montreal
Daniel Jutras
Rector of Université de Montréal
C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville
Montréal, QC H3C 3J7
Email: recteur@umontreal.ca
McGill University
Deep Saini, Ph.D.
Office of the President and Vice-Chancellor
James Admin. Bldg., Room 506
845 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, QC H3A 0G4
Email: president@mcgill.ca
Concordia University
Graham Carr
President & Vice-Chancellor
1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
Montreal, QC H3G 1M8
Ottawa University
Jacques Frémont
President and Vice-Chancellor
University of Ottawa
Tabaret Hall
550 Cumberland, Room 212
Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5
Email: president@uOttawa.ca
University of Toronto
Meric Gertler
Office of the President
University of Toronto
27 King’s College Circle
Toronto, ON M5S 1A1
Email: president@utoronto.ca
McMaster University
David Farrar,
President and Vice-Chancellor
McMaster University
Gilmour Hall, Room 238,
1280 Main Street West,
Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8
Email: president@mcmaster.ca
University of Victoria
Kevin Hall, PhD
President & Vice-Chancellor
Office of the President
University of Victoria
3800 Finnerty Road
Victoria BC V8P 5C2
Email: pres@uvic.ca
Vancouver Island University
Deborah Saucier, Ph. D.
President & Vice-Chancellor
Vancouver Island University
900 Fifth Street
Nanaimo, BC V9R 5S5
University of Western Ontario
Alan Shepard, PH.D.
President & Vice-Chancellor
Office of the President
Stevenson Hall, Suite 2107
London, ON N6A 5B8