Why droves of international students aren't making it past the visa officer

Plus, Ontario's new laws and the "gilded age" of Canadian CEOs [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning and happy New Year. Here’s the latest on Canada’s international student system, Ontario’s new laws for the new year and Canada’s highest-earning CEOs. DON’T MISS Dreamstime Photo immigration [Canadian schools are accepting international students by the thousands — but nearly half aren’t being allowed into the country]( New data analyzed by the Star shows nearly half of the international students being accepted into Canadian schools are seeing their visa applications rejected, Nicholas Keung reports. Critics, meanwhile, say the international student system in Canada — which has become a major source of revenue for post-secondary schools — has “lost its integrity.” [Take a look at the approval rates for applicants at schools across Ontario and what one policy expert says they reveal about the system](. - Go deeper: Some visa applications are denied because the applicant doesn’t meet the financial requirement, or an officer may not believe the applicant will leave the country if they lose their status. It could also come down to an application being incomplete, a missing payment, or the submission of fraudulent documents. - Meanwhile: As home costs soar in Canada’s cities, George Brown College is among a growing number of schools looking to [put shovels in the ground for staff housing](. Canadian Press/Nathan Denette provincial politics [The new Ontario laws and regulations coming into effect on New Year’s Day]( There aren’t any new taxes or tax cuts for Ontario in 2024 — but Doug Ford is extending a gasoline tax cut of 10 cents per litre until June 30, Rob Ferguson reports. Opposition parties, however, have called for more meaningful measures that help consumers cope with rising prices. The new year also comes with new policies to increase cannabis retailing, speed up school construction and grant new consumer rights for those dealing with tow trucks, among several others. [These are the new laws governing the province in the new year](. - Meanwhile: As Ford extends the gas tax cut, NDP Leader Marit Stiles is advocating for stronger rent controls and Green Leader Mike Schreiner is pushing for an “excess profits tax” on major grocery retailers. - More: A new section of the Personal Health Information Protection Act empowers the province’s information and privacy commissioner to impose monetary penalties on organizations for sharing a patient’s personal health information. Lance McMillan/The Star business [The “Gilded Age” of Canadian CEOs]( CEOs in Canada got record-breaking pay in 2022 — the 100 highest-paid earned $14.9 million, on average, Ana Pereira reports. A report released Tuesday shows that, as inflation increased, the CEOs took home 246 times more pay than the average Canadian worker. Assuming the year has 260 working days, that means it took the CEOs just over eight hours to make the average annual income in Canada of $60,606. [Take a closer look at the financials](. - Go deeper: “The last couple of years illustrated it fairly well: bonuses go through the roof when times are good, irrespective of whether a CEO was particularly responsible for it or not. And when times are bad, (companies) change the bonus formula to insulate CEOs from the potential downward impact of bad company performance,” said David Macdonald, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and author of the report. - More: Only four women are on the list of highest-paid CEOs. Macdonald pointed out that there are also four CEOs named “Mark.” WHAT ELSE Parents across the GTA rang in 2024 with a new member of the family. [Here’s a look inside the race for the New Year’s Baby](. [Powerful earthquakes in western Japan have left at least 48 people dead]( destroying buildings along the coast. With deserted dorms and KD for Christmas, [here’s how international students are creating new holiday traditions](. After more than a decade of chaos, [there’s a ray of sunshine at “Construction City’s” gridlocked Yonge and Eglinton](. “If you always think the same way, you will get the same results.” [Toronto’s retiring chief planner talks about 40 years of city housing rules — and the need to change](. There has been a rise of filming in gyms — and not everyone likes it. [Here’s how facilities are dealing with it](. Higher prices, lower interest rates and [what else to expect in Toronto real estate in 2024](. Changes to CPP deductions are starting in 2024. [Here’s what you need to know](. Toronto police have identified the 41-year-old man killed in a downtown shelter stabbing. [Here’s what we know](. [An e-bike sparked a fire on a TTC Line 1 subway car]( sending two people to hospital on New Year's Eve. Does Toronto freelancer Lillian really need private health insurance? [Here’s what an expert thinks](. Here’s how your credit score is determined — [and how to build it starting this year](. POV Lance McMillan/The Star [Star Editorial Board: Many challenges await in 2024. It will demand better of our politicians — and us.]( CLOSE-UP Hatem Ali/AP Photo GAZA: A makeshift tent camp, where Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are staying, is seen in the Muwasi area on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. Israel has declared the thin coastal strip a safe zone. [Here’s what we know about Israel’s plans for the war in the new year](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_206449). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. BOXING WEEK SALE Only $1/week for 52 weeks [Get This Offer]( If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. 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