Saudi Arabia Is Pulling Students From Canada in Escalating Dispute Over Human Rights
The Saudi Arabian government plans to withdraw all Saudi students it has been sponsoring at Canadian universities, colleges and other schools in retaliation for Canada criticizing the Islamic kingdom’s human-rights record.
A Saudi government source, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said on Monday more than 15,000 Saudis study in Canada on scholarships, grants or in trainee programs funded by Riyadh. Accompanying family members bring the number to 20,000 or more.
More than 150 students at the University of Regina are being told they have a month to leave the country after officials in Saudi Arabia announced a plan to move thousands of Saudi scholarship students out of Canadian schools
Saudi Arabia has kicked out the Canadian ambassador, plans to pull out thousands of students and medical patients from Canada and is suspending Saudi state airline flights to Toronto
The debacle highlights how important international students have become to Ontario’s economy. Including those studying in the K-12 system, language schools, and colleges and universities, there are now an estimated 150,000 international students in the province. Collectively, they contribute an estimated $5.68 billion to Ontario’s economy each year.
