International Students: International Students

International Students Dept: StudentsNS would further argue that international students are especially important as a promising group of prospective immigrants, and a major challenge for Nova Scotia moving forward is to encourage students to settle here. For immigrants to stay, according to many researchers, they need to feel valued and included in a local society, according to The Chronicle Herald. Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia already provide full health coverage to international students the moment they begin their studies. Ontario, Nova Scotia s key domestic competitor for international students, provides no such coverage to international students, instead requiring they buy an expensive private plan and this year, there are more than 6,000 international students studying at Nova Scotia s post-secondary education institutions. s Jan. 26 story No back burner for this cultural melting pot highlighted these students incalculably valuable cultural contribution. Much attention has also been given to the fact that these students infuse our economy to the tune of $231 million per year and generate $3 in government revenue for every public dollar spent to support them. In this view, an important and cost-effective first step students see for Nova Scotia would be to provide MSI coverage to international students immediately upon their arrival to study. In total, roughly 4,218 international students and 427 of their dependents would benefit from immediate health coverage, at an annual cost to the province of only about $452,440, or $97.40 per person. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.