加拿大国际学生打工时长调整至 24 小时，仍难以应对高昂生活成本

International Students Can Now Work 24 Hours, But Many Struggle With Rising Costs

政策调整：国际学生每周可工作 24 小时

Policy Change: International Students Can Work 24 Hours Per Week

自加拿大移民、难民和公民事务部（IRCC）宣布国际学生每周校外打工时间从 20 小时增加至 24 小时以来，已有近三个月的时间。

It’s been almost three months since Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced international students can work up to 24 hours per week off-campus, instead of the previous 20 hours.

这一政策变化受到了部分国际学生的欢迎，但也有学生认为额外的 4 小时仍不足以应对加拿大日益上涨的生活成本和高昂的学费。

The policy has been seen as a positive change by some international students. However, others agree that the 4-hour increase is still not enough to cover their expenses and tuition with the rising cost of living in the country.

现实困境：24 小时打工限制难以覆盖学费和生活费

Real Challenges: Work Limits Are Still Not Enough

阿娜·劳拉·罗曼（Ana Laura Roman） 来自古巴和牙买加，于 2023 年来到圣托马斯大学（St. Thomas University）就读。她曾获得STU 校长奖学金（STU Presidential Scholarship），该奖学金可支付她一半的学费，约 20,000 加元/年。Ana Laura Roman came to St. Thomas University in 2023 as an international student from Cuba and Jamaica, where she had earned the STU Presidential Scholarship, which covers half of her tuition, valued at around $20,000 per year.

尽管罗曼的家人最初给予了一些经济支持，但由于牙买加货币对加元的汇率极低，她仍然不得不打工来支付剩余的学费和生活费。

Roman initially received help from her family when she first came to the country, but she still had to find a job to cover the rest of her expenses, as her home country’s currency exchange rate to Canadian dollars is very low.

1 加元相当于 109.39 牙买加元。One Canadian dollar equals to 109.39 Jamaican dollars.

“当时我的部分学费是用牙买加元支付的，损失非常大。” 罗曼说。

“When I got here some of my tuition was paid in JMB [Jamaican dollars] and it’s just really bad,” said Roman. “You lose a chunk of your money when you paid it that way.”

政策变动让国际学生收入大幅缩水 | Policy Change Led To A Sharp Drop In Income

由于加拿大2022 年劳动力短缺，时任 IRCC 部长肖恩·弗雷泽（Sean Fraiser） 曾宣布临时政策，允许国际学生在学年期间全职工作。

Due to labour shortages in 2022, previous IRCC minister Sean Fraiser announced a temporary policy that allowed international students to work full-time during the school year.

这一政策原定于 2023 年 12 月 31 日到期，后被延长至 2024 年 4 月。但在4 月 29 日，IRCC 宣布不再延续该政策，并将校外打工时间调整为 24 小时/周。

The policy was initially set to expire on Dec. 31, 2023, but was extended until April of 2024. However, on April 29, IRCC announced that the temporary policy would not be extended and that the new work limit would be 24 hours per week starting in the fall.

2023 年，罗曼在一边全职上学的同时，每周工作 40 小时，担任儿童护理社工，为残障儿童提供帮助。

In 2023, Roman was working 40 hours as a social worker taking care of children with disabilities while going to school full-time.

然而，当新规生效后，她的工作时长被限制在 20 小时，收入骤降近一半。

When the extension ended, Roman had to work within the previous 20-hour limit, which she said severely affected her finances at the time.

“这对我打击很大，我的收入从每两周 1,500 加元降到了 800 加元，影响非常大。”

“It was pretty brutal, because I [went] from earning maybe $1,500 every two weeks to $800,” said Roman. “It was a very big difference.”

由于在第一年失去了奖学金，她不得不依靠自己来支付所有学费和生活费。

After losing her scholarship during her first year, Roman had to find a way to cover her tuition and living expenses by herself.

财政压力下，国际学生被迫削减开支 | Strict Budgets To Cope With Financial Pressure

罗曼表示，她必须在夏季超负荷工作，以攒钱支付下一学年的学费。同时，她还找了两份校内工作，并大幅削减了生活开支。

Roman said she had to work “crazy hours” during the summer to save up for tuition for the next academic year, while also taking two on-campus jobs and cutting expenses.

“我给自己制定了非常严格的预算，减少了所有不必要的开支，基本不出去吃饭，所有餐食都自己做。”

“I definitely put myself on a very strict budget,” she said. “I cut down on things like luxuries. I wasn’t going out, I wasn’t eating out as much, I was making all my meals at home and so on.”

IRCC：国际学生来加拿大是为了学习，而不是为了工作 | IRCC: Students Are Here To Study, Not Work

IRCC 表示，政府研究了其他国家的政策，并发现国际学生的学业成绩会因过度工作而受到影响。The IRCC said they came to this decision after extensive research, looking at the needs of students, policies in other countries and additional research that “has shown that academic outcomes suffer the more a student works while studying.”

“国际学生来加拿大的首要任务是学习，而不是工作。” ——IRCC 部长马克·米勒（Marc Miller）“However, first and foremost, people coming to Canada as students must be here to study, not work.” — IRCC Minister Marc Miller

国际学生：希望政府听到我们的声音 | International Students: We Want The Government To Hear Us

罗曼承认，之前每周 40 小时的工作确实影响了她的学业，她也因此失去了奖学金。但她认为，政府应允许国际学生每周至少工作 30 小时，因为很多人为了追求更好的生活，付出了巨大的经济努力。

Roman acknowledged that the previous hours increase affected her academic performance, but she believes international students should be able to work more – at least 30 hours a week – due to the financial efforts they make to pursue a better life.

“我们是自愿来到加拿大的，我们放弃了家乡的舒适环境，为的是在这里创造更好的未来。”

“We want to be here. We chose to leave the comfort of our homes and families to be here and to make this country a better place one way or another.”

她希望政府能够认真倾听国际学生的需求，并提供更多支持，帮助那些经济困难的学生更好地适应加拿大的生活。

She hopes the IRCC and universities will provide more support for students from struggling backgrounds, helping them better adapt to life in Canada.