Petition: Support for International Students

Petition for Full and Equal Access for International Students at the University of Western Ontario

NOTE: Since this petition was first started, Western has since declared (March 14, 2018) that International PhD students will be charged *domestic* tuition as of September 1, 2018. 

• Whereas international students already pay tuition fees that are 3 to 4 times higher (2.5 higher at Western University) than fees charged to domestic students for the same education; and
• Whereas international student’s tuition fees are deregulated in Ontario, and in some cases these fees are raised by 20 per cent in a year (5% at Western University); and
• Whereas institutions continue to use differential tuition fees for international students as a revenue generating strategy due to lack of adequate government funding; and
• Whereas in 1994, the Ontario government disqualified international students from the Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) and;
• Whereas international students studying at universities must enroll in a private health insurance program – the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) – which costs between $600.00 and $2000.00 per year. This for-profit health insurance plan provides limited health coverage that is not accepted universally by physicians, hospitals and clinics in Ontario; and
• Whereas provinces like British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia currently include international students on their provincial health insurance programs; and
• Whereas international students contribute over $4.4 billion annually to the province’s economy through paying tuition fees, basic living expenses and consumer spending; and
• Whereas international students are not eligible for federal funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHR) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) except for Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

We the undersigned petition the administration at the University of Western Ontario to support the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario’s call and Petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

i. Petition the University of Western Ontario’s administration to stop unfair practice of deregulated tuition fee hikes for international students and support the call by the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario to call on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to increase funding; and

ii. Petition the University of Western Ontario to petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to restore OHIP coverage for international students.

iii. Petition the University of Western Ontario to petition Minister Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, to extended eligibility for Canada’s three funding agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR) to international students.