A Brampton food bank has decided to close its doors to international students, amid an overwhelming demand it says it can’t meet.
Board president Catherine Rivera says Ste. Louise Outreach Centre of Peel can’t provide enough food and other supplies to its customers because of the influx of international students showing up at the food bank since September.
But others in the same line of work are calling out the food bank for using anecdotes rather than data to support its decision. They should have to, if they’re using anecdotes to shut their doors on people who only have $668 a month, said Jindi Singh, national director of Khalsa Aid.
“I wonder if they realize how difficult it is for international students, some of them who are heavily in debt,” Singh said. “It’s quite disturbing.”
Ste. Louise Outreach of Peel placed a board outside its food bank in Brampton that reads: “No international students!!” (CBC)
Rivera says students are required to show funds for their first year before coming into Canada, and hence should not be relying on food banks.
“We get groups of three, four, sometimes nine, 10, with their backpacks ready for free stuff, we tell them, ‘We can’t feed you, you’re responsible for yourself and your family,'” Rivera said.
To become a client at the Ste. Louise Outreach Centre of Peel, a person needs to present identification, proof of their status in Canada,as well as bank statements and a lease.
LISTEN | Brampton food bank director explains why they are banning international students:
Metro Morning7:03Brampton food bank director explains why they are banning international students
Featured VideoCatherine Rivera is Board President of Ste. Louise Outreach Centre of Peel.
At the Sai Dham food bank in Etobicoke, co-founder Vishal Khanna says they have registered 8,027 students from 57 colleges.
He says that number has risen “drastically” in the last few years.
While Khanna has empathy for food banks not having enough supplies, he says they shouldn’t assume students have the money to sustain themselves when cost of living is so high, even “average Canadians… a person who is making $60,000 is still eating at our food bank.”
Divide the required funds Ste. Louis Outreach Centre mentions by 12 months and some students are left with as little as $688 each month to cover food and expenses.
Across Canada, reliance on food banks is reaching record levels. According to an October report from Food Banks Canada food bank usage reached its highest level since the survey started in 1989. The Daily Bread Food Bank’s most recent annual report, found a 63 per cent year-over-year increase in use from July 2022 to June 2023.
Showing up at a food bank is a last resort for people struggling during a “cost of living crisis,” Singh said, adding that Khalsa Aid has received numerous requests from international students struggling to find a job that offers them 20 hours a week — they are legally allowed to work.
LISTEN | Jaspreet Singh, of the World Sikh Organization, spoke with Metro Morning on Friday about the challenges driving some international students to area food banks:
Metro Morning7:26‘It’s a bit heartbreaking’: reaction to a Peel food bank’s decision to ban international students
Featured VideoJaspreet Singh is a national board member for international students with the World Sikh Organization.
Calls for colleges to step up
Sheridan College hosts over 10,000 international students and lists food banks, including Sai Dham and Ste Louise Outreach on its website for students to access in times of need.
Sunan Sharma, the dean of student affairs, says he’s unbothered by Ste. Louise’s decision because the college already has some services, such as a food pantry and grocery cards for all students.
“Congratulations for the work that you’re doing… if they can’t serve that segment of the population, it’s OK, you’re putting food into the bellies of people who need it,” Sharma said.
He says Sheridan will just list Ste. Louise with a note that it’s available only to “domestic students.”
Catherine Rivera says international students should be responsible for themselves and their families. (CBC)
Sharma says the college’s role is only to point students in the right direction and that it can’t do anything about who an independent charity like Ste. Louise decides to serve.
That’s not enough, says Khalsa Aid and Sai Dham.
The two organizations are calling for post-secondary institutes to have more support in place for all students, so they don’t have to show up at food banks in the first place.
TORONTO – Ontario is pushing through several bills with little or no debate, which the government house leader says is due to a short legislative sitting.
The government has significantly reduced debate and committee time on the proposed law that would force municipalities to seek permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a car lane.
It also passed the fall economic statement that contains legislation to send out $200 cheques to taxpayers with reduced debating time.
The province tabled a bill Wednesday afternoon that would extend the per-vote subsidy program, which funnels money to political parties, until 2027.
That bill passed third reading Thursday morning with no debate and is awaiting royal assent.
Government House Leader Steve Clark did not answer a question about whether the province is speeding up passage of the bills in order to have an election in the spring, which Premier Doug Ford has not ruled out.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
