Subject: The Canadian Government and Universities - 2003 02 07

So what is this? To study in Canada you either need to be a) born here or b) so rich that you can use diamond-plated toothbrushes. Whose brilliance is this? Not only do we lose out on some of the best minds that the international community has to offer, but also on the self-pride that we have over being a "multicultural" nation. Lets take my beloved Acadia University, as an example. Tuition for a Canadian for one year is about $6000 Canadian. For an international student? $11 000!!! Thats a lot of dollars! I mean, they dont get enough specialized services to justify the $5000 difference! The reason I involve the government in this is because Im guessing part of the difference is a subsidy that the government pays to get Canadian students into their own universities. But what this tells me is that we're not promoting education. It tells me that we're promoting selfism. So in other terms, if its a "good Canadian kid" as Don Cherry calls them, or the most talented Sweede in hockey history, who do the Leafs sign? Ill give you a hint. It's not going to be the person who'll be lucky to score 7 goals in a season. Itll be the skill player. And its not like Canadian students dont have opportunities. There's TONNES of spots open for those who have the marks. Why not increase competition? See who really has the drive to succeed starting early? And while Im ranting, I have another beef with the Government. The rules for entrance into Canada are okay...except for teenaged entrants. You either need amazing worker skills, or to be really rich. Neither of which your average teen has. So if they come to Canada, they cant study AND work towards their permanant residence at the same time. So again, we turn away brilliant minds at our own expense. Isnt that smart? Meanwhile, our best students all abandon to the US, who gratefully accepts them. Why dont we accept those from other countries just as easily? Not only do we get more multiculturalism, which our "mosaic" soceity should love, but we replace the US led void.