Contributed to the Toronto Star by Alan Shepard (published February 6, 2025)
Alan Shepard is president and vice-chancellor of Western University
In September, I argued that federal government’s move to dramatically scale back international student visas would send Canada on a slippery slope, especially when it came to restrictions on graduate students — a critical talent pipeline.
My voice was among a chorus calling for a smarter approach — by rethinking the use of a hammer or at least dialing back its swing. Or, better yet, creating a framework for allocating visas to institutions best positioned to use them for Canada’s benefit — chief among them, research-intensive universities….