Grant, Contribution or Other Financial Benefit

• Discussions with Employment and Social Development Canada concerning international student mobility and internship programs.

Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution

• Discussions concerning federal budget priorities. Priority topics include: federal government's support for university research through the federal granting agencies and other government programs; support for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows; changes to the Canada Research Chairs program; university infrastructure; international research collaboration; knowledge mobilization; equity diversity and inclusion; cybersecurity; and expanding university education opportunities for Indigenous Canadians.
• Engaging with reviews of existing legislation covering charities to clarify how they apply to educational institutions.
• Lobbying for an explicit exception for charities, not-for-profits and/or educational institutions to Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL).
• Lobbying to maintain current regulations included in the Lobbying Act.
• Lobbying to maintain fair dealing for education.

Policies or Program

• Discuss effective strategies and programs to support student transition to the work place and access to upskilling and reskilling programs for mid-career Canadians with Employment and Social Development Canada, including the Student Work-Integrated Learning Program (SWILP) and the Canada Training Benefit.
• Engage with Department of Status of Women and Statistics Canada regarding data collection and policies/frameworks regarding student safety on campus.
• Engage with Global Affairs Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and ESDC on the implementation of the government’s International Education Strategy – including the targeting and recruitment of international students and the design of the outbound student mobility program for Canadian students to study abroad.
• Engage with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada regarding the role of universities in supporting innovation through the full suite of innovation initiatives (eg. Superclusters, economic sector tables, Innovation Canada, knowledge mobilization, digital research infrastructure etc.)
• Engage with Statistics Canada regarding postsecondary education and research data collection and analysis with particular attention to the University and College Academic Staff System survey and labour market information.
• Harmonization of immigration policies with regard to the improvement of study and work permit processing to identify areas where policies and procedures could be strengthened.
• Increased supports for Indigenous students seeking to access post-secondary education.

Regulation

• Working with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to improve visa processing times, the Study Direct Stream program, and lower refusal rates for international students accepted to Canadian universities