Thousands of international students miss fall semester amid uncertainty, visa delays

'This is ... a direct result of some of the federal policy decisions that we've seen take place,' says president of St. Lawrence College in Kingston

SHARIF HASSAN — Thousands of international students expected to study at three Ontario colleges are missing the fall semester, after Ottawa announced it would further tighten Canada’s study permit system.

Some school officials are attributing the dramatic enrollment decline to a chilling effect created by the federal government’s policy, and to visa delays that have resulted from a stricter approach.