New measures to protect international students announced
Minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship Marc Miller recently announced new measures aimed at protecting international students from fraud. Beginning on December 1, designated learning institutions (DLIs) will have to confirm international student acceptance letters with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)—this additional verification process is to protect the students from letter-of-acceptance fraud. The IRCC is also working toward a “recognized institution” plan for the fall 2024 semester, meant to highlight DLIs that offer superior supports for international students; the selected DLIs will have priority processing for study permits. Lastly, the IRCC is completing an assessment of Post-Graduation Work Permit Program criteria to match the needs of the Canadian labour market.
Camosun taking toy donations
Camosun College will be collecting donations for The Zone’s annual toy drive for the month of November. Students interested in donating can drop off new, unwrapped toys at the Lansdowne or Interurban libraries, the Chargers office (PISE 118), or any Chargers home game. Donations are being accepted until Thursday, November 30.
Camosun College hosts traditional pit cook
Camosun College hosted a traditional Coast Salish pit cook demonstration at its Interurban campus on Thursday, November 2. The annual event showcased how the Coast Salish Nations cooked camas bulbs—which are the root of the camas flower—in between layers of locally harvested plants on a fire pit. The event also featured teachings from elder JB Williams of the Tsawout Nation and Camosun Anthropology instructor Nicole Kilburn.
Camosun building up for award
The restoration of Camosun College’s Dental Building is one of the projects that was recently announced as a finalist in the 2023 Capital Region Commercial Building Awards. 44 South Vancouver Island projects are up for awards, with the winners announced on November 23 at the Delta Hotel Ocean Pointe Resort.
Boost in pay for early childhood educators
On Monday, October 30, federal minister of children, families and social development Jenna Sudds and BC minister of state for child care Grace Lore announced at Camosun College’s Interurban campus a provincial funding initiative that will increase daycare workers’ wages by $2 starting January 1, 2024. In order to receive the raise, early childhood educators (ECEs) will have to be employed by a licensed child care facility—this includes roughly 12,000 ECEs in BC. According to the Education and Child Care Ministry, this will bring the median hourly wage for ECEs to $28 in BC.