Professor Afshin Rezaei-Zare discusses the 1859 geomagnetic storm, and others that have followed.聽Geomagnetic storms are often linked to a "mesmerizing display" of the northern lights but聽carry the potential to wreak havoc on our modern technological infrastructure.聽Rezaei-Zare聽leads a program that received a $1.65-million grant to help mitigate their potential impacts in Canada and the world. "Perhaps most concerning is ," Rezaei-Zare tells Toronto.com. "Modern electrical grids, satellite systems, and communication networks are highly vulnerable to the massive GICs such storms produce."

In an op-ed for The Conversation, Professor Jack L. Rozdilsky writes about the challenges facing recovery from the Jasper Complex Wildfire, which burned an estimated 32,722 hectares in July. Visiting the site as a researcher and to observe recovery efforts, he describes the "" of structures littering the charred landscape and how clean-up efforts will be complicated by snowfall. "Despite best efforts being made, if large tracts of disaster debris become frozen in place over winter, such a situation will impede recovery progress in 2025," writes Rozdilsky.

Professor Joe Mihevc, who served on Toronto City Council for nearly 30 years, comments on the city collecting resident feedback on the 2025 city budget through an online survey. Mihevc says Toronto needs to look for new revenue streams to pay for the priorities identified by residents. Mihevc tells CBC that , like continuing to ask the federal government to help cover the cost of shelters used by refugees or lobbying the province to cover the health and housing costs associated with growing homelessness.

Professor Ian Stedman writes about the looming federal election campaign, accountability, transparency and ethics for The Conversation. "Regardless of which party holds power, a striking flaw in Canada's political ethics framework is ," writes Stedman. "Ethics issues must be kept in public view and political parties should be pressured to offer meaningful reform ideas in their campaign and party platforms."

Ahead of Wednesday's Liberal caucus meeting where some MPs were expected to confront Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about his dropping popularity, Professor Dennis Pilon spoke to CityNews . He says that聽the Liberals have traditionally been less focused on rules around leadership reviews than other parties.

Professor Valerie Ann Preston talks to Toronto Star about a report by Statistics Canada that found international students and temporary foreign workers are paying more in monthly rent than Canadian-born tenants living in the same metropolitan areas. When differences were adjusted for neighbourhood, type of home and household size, international students paid less for shelter but temporary foreign workers still pay more than Canadian-born tenants. " because the rent premium for temporary farm workers persists even after you control for neighbourhood and you control for welling characteristics," says Preston. She adds that individuals in both groups tend to be newer to Canada with less knowledge about local rental markets, which puts them at a disadvantage. International students and temporary foreign workers are also primarily short-term renters. "Housing where you get international students and temporary foreign workers living is also housing that comes back on the market more often," she says. "The rents rise every time it becomes vacant."

91亚色's Markham Campus is prioritizing experiential education through its innovative biotechnology programs. Two standout offerings are the master of biotechnology management and graduate diploma in biotechnology programs. Dan Palermo, the interim deputy provost says the campus was designed to offer students hands-on learning experiences and aligns with the university's broader goal of . "This is what students are asking for," Palermo tells 91亚色Region.com. "It prepares them more effectively for the workforce."

Do you have a new research study or an academic achievement to share? Contact media@yorku.ca with details. For daily 91亚色 in the News highlights, follow on X.

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The Canadian government placed a  earlier this year. The government stated that a rapid increase in the number of international students was putting added 鈥減ressure on housing, health care and other services.鈥�

In addition, Immigration Minister Marc Miller criticized some private colleges for the increasing number of refugee claims from their international students, saying the trend was 

Similarly, a recent article in the  stated refugee claims by international students increased by 646 per cent from 2018 to 2023, and raised concerns about students exploiting Canada鈥檚 immigration system.

However, focusing on refugee claims, and not refugee claim approvals, obscures the context needed to understand such a complex issue. These comments and statistics are misleading and contribute to fueling .

Given the central place of immigration in heated political debates in Canada, it鈥檚 crucial to unpack these claims and understand the implications of perpetuating unfounded criticism of Canada鈥檚 refugee and immigration system.

Growing number of displaced people

Amid the war in Ukraine,  and enduring humanitarian crises in Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Venezuela, Sudan and elsewhere,  people have been displaced worldwide. Accordingly,  from displaced people; many of whom face the risk of being  or sent to a .

The  in Canada fluctuates over time, largely in response to global events. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic there was a notable decline in refugee claims from 58,378 in 2019 to 18,500 in 2020. However, refugee claims in Canada increased from 55,388 in 2018 to 137,947 in 2023.

While the increase in the number of international students making refugee claims is worth investigation, the impact of this increase should not be exaggerated or taken out of context. In 2018, international students made up three per cent of new refugee claims. By 2023, this figure increased to only eight per cent.

Most importantly, these numbers need to be examined as a percentage of all . In 2023, only one per cent of international students sought asylum.

Refugee fraud is rare

The large majority of refugee claims in Canada . In recent years the number of refugee claims approved increased from 63 per cent in 2018 to 79 per cent in 2023.

During this same period, fraud in the refugee determination system has been relatively rare. When Canada鈥檚 Immigration and Refugee Board encounters a claim that is 鈥渃learly fraudulent鈥� the Board has a legal obligation to declare that the claim is 鈥�.鈥� This occurs only a few dozen times per year.

The result is that most refugee claimants in Canada are determined to have a . As such, most will obtain permanent residence in Canada and be on the path to citizenship.

Dangers of alarmist rhetoric

Statistics Canada data indicate that more than 15 per cent of  are deciding to leave Canada within 20 years of immigrating. Meanwhile less than half of permanent residents are . There is also a similar trend among international students.  and  are contemplating leaving Canada amid declining affordability and diminishing job prospects.

However, these realities are often not as interesting or enraging as the alarmist rhetoric adopted by politicians and media. The fact that fraud is rare in Canada鈥檚 refugee system doesn鈥檛 sell newspapers or win votes. Declining citizenship rates are not as compelling as tales of international students exploiting loopholes to stay in Canada.

This kind of rhetoric also overlooks the fact that many students do come from countries experiencing political instability and violence, making their refugee claims deserving of consideration. In the face of migration controls and the , coming to Canada as a student and seeking refuge may be the only viable option for some people seeking protection from persecution.

With that in mind, politicians and media must be careful regarding how they discuss refugee claimants. It is misleading to imply that it is 鈥渁larming鈥� and 鈥渦nacceptable鈥� for someone to make a refugee claim simply because they are an international student. Seeking asylum is a right they have under both  and .

Such rhetoric fosters a climate of suspicion and distrust towards newcomers, fueling xenophobia and hostility towards those in need of protection. Instead, politicians, media and the public in general, should recognize that Canada has processes that are well-placed to examine these claims. These include one of  that assesses each claim on its merits.

When politicians engage in rhetoric that plays into anxieties about migration, the media must act as an informed voice that scrutinizes their comments, instead of amplifying reactionary claims about fraud and the spectre of bogus refugees.

Co-authored by Assistant Professor Yvonne Su, Department of Equity Studies, and Sean Rehaag, director, Centre of Refugee Studies and associate professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, both at 91亚色, and Corey Robinson, lecturer, International Relations School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow.

This article is republished from .

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The housing needs of international students are often forgotten when mayoral candidates talk about the lack of affordable housing, say 91亚色 Professors Tania Das Gupta and Yvonne Su

TORONTO, June 7, 2023 鈥� With Toronto rents continuing to climb many young people are finding it near impossible to secure affordable places, but international student face additional obstacles, including rights abuses, sexual harassment, rent gouging and discrimination, says two 91亚色 professors.

91亚色 Professor and Assistant Professor have found many of the rental ads prey on international students, particularly Indian students, and are not only discriminatory, but also violate the Ontario Human Rights Code.

In the lead up to the mayoral byelection, the researchers stress the importance of addressing the situation, suggesting that mayoral candidates should state their understanding of the issue and how they plan to remedy. International students are particularly vulnerable to abuse, especially in a tight rental market.

International students often find themselves in sub-standard rentals, such as basement units not built to code or infested with pests, over-crowded and unsafe, often lacking fire and carbon monoxide alarms, say the researchers.

There have even been ads online ads for renters to share the same bed on a rotating basis.

Das Gupta鈥檚 looks specifically at the needs of young Punjabi newcomers and their barriers to settlement during and post-COVID-19.

Su and Das Gupta are available to discuss the risks and challenges international students face when they search for affordable rental housing.

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 are leaving more and more people struggling to find an affordable place to live. National conversations about the housing crisis often overlook a growing segment of the population that is extremely vulnerable to housing discrimination, rent gouging, rights abuses and sexual harassment: .

Canada had more than , around 40 per cent of whom come from India. While all these students need housing, many face discrimination in the rental market.  into Punjabi newcomers in Canada has found that some landlords discriminate against international students based on gender and ethnicity.

Discriminatory ads

An online search for rentals shows many ads for properties that are available to international students. In addition, many ads are aimed at Indian students with landlords seeking tenants who are vegetarian or from particular regions of India.

The wording in the ads seems innocuous, but many can be  and prey on international students. Landlords often demand . And international students are often sought because their relatively recent arrival in Canada and temporary migration status means they are less likely to complain.

Housing as a human right

Even though these ads violate the , they continue to be posted on public websites. The code defines the right to be free from discrimination in housing as 鈥渘ot only the right to enter into an agreement and occupy a residential dwelling, but also the right to be free from discrimination in all matters relating to the accommodation.鈥�

Das Gupta鈥檚 ongoing research features in-depth interviews with students and service providers. Respondents have shared that many live-in landlords tend to infantilize and over-monitor them. Others, especially female international students, have experienced  as well as .

A 2018 survey at McGill University found that .

Sub-standard, illegal and overcrowded housing

Accommodation aimed at international students can often be . Many often lack fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors and have pest infestations. Many secondary units in single-family homes, like basement suites, are built without permits and not to code.

Brampton, Ont., a city where many Indian international students reside, had a , which is well below the minimum of three per cent considered acceptable. It is no wonder then that Brampton has an estimated 50,000 illegal units.

This is dangerous and can lead to tragic outcomes. In January,  in a fire in an overcrowded international student house. In December 2022, Cape Breton University  because of the shortage of suitable accommodation.

Another common issue with housing for international students is . With rental costs increasingly unaffordable, many students are renting single rooms with others. Some online ads even offer a room with only one bed that is to be shared with another tenant the student does not know. One ad on Kijiji stated: 鈥渓ooking for 1 Indian girl to share one room with another Punjabi girl.鈥�

Stories of  and  are common across Canada. These incidents combined with the costly rental market mean that homelessness is a common experience for students. A 2018 study found that more than .

While the study did not focus on international students in particular, Das Gupta鈥檚 ongoing research shows that  with stories of some students  because they cannot afford rent.

Ending the culture of exploitation

 exposed how international students at Cape Breton University and other Canadian post-secondary institutions are strategically recruited because they pay  than Canadians.

The extreme nature of the crisis at the university led students to , including raising awareness that complaining about human rights abuses, sexual assaults or other crimes will not hurt their chances of staying in Canada.

But such advocacy can only go so far. Structural changes by governments and post-secondary institutions are required and municipalities need to better regulate illegal rental units. And importantly,  must be consulted and heeded.

Co-written by 91亚色 Professors Tania Das Gupta and Yvonne Su of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies

This article is republished from .

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Meet Syeda Fatima Abbas Rizvi, 19, and mature student Sabina Goranova 鈥� two women who started their post-secondary education in person before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged and had to complete their programs online, overcoming all challenges the pandemic posed.

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