A viral social media post over the weekend has shed light on a new trend taking place among international students living in Canada. International students that arrive in Canada on student visas are filming themselves going to food banks to get “free food” as a way to save money seemingly without any shame or remorse. These students – most of whom are from India – are telling their followers that this is a totally normal and acceptable thing to do.
In reality, these students are coming to this country and leeching off the charitable nature of Canadians who donate food to food banks with the intention that the food will go those in need – not to an international student with enough money to pay international tuition fees.
But is all of this the fault of the students? Not entirely. Canada has approved record numbers of student visas over the past few years. In 2022, over 550,000 students visas were granted. Many students are dumping life savings to come to Canada just to receive a second-rate education with no real chance at success here and are living in terrible conditions.
This is a story of greed and abuse – from students that come here, to the colleges and universities that enroll them, and the federal government.