The case of deceived foreign students continues to be investigated in Quebec
They paid the money, but didn't get the study visas.
Be careful when choosing a school in Canada. We recently published a world ranking of the best cities to study in which Montreal ranked fifth. The parents of Indian students who paid money to Montreal's private colleges believed in the quality of Canadian education and saved for a long time for a good education for their children.
The number of students from India in Quebec has increased dramatically in two years: they were 2,686 in the 2017-2018 academic year — and became 14,712 by 2020. 10,161 of them enrolled in private colleges. The provincial government began investigating the situation, believing that many colleges were recruiting too many students, teaching them to a reduced standard, and essentially selling study visas with the continued right to remain in the province. Once the investigation began, 10 colleges were prohibited from accepting applications from new students, and the processing of applications already submitted was suspended.
As a result, after paying at least $15,000 CAD to attend M College, CCSQ College or CDE College and an additional $4,000 CAD for the services of Rising Phoenix Immigration Services, hundreds of students were not permitted to study and therefore could not come to Canada. Both colleges and the immigration company are run by members of the same Mastantuono family. Several years ago, they worked for the Lester B. Pearson School Board, one of the agencies responsible for Quebec's English-speaking schools and colleges, to attract international students.
The Mastantuono family was charged in November 2020 with fraud and forgery back in 2014-2016, while serving on the school board, but could not prove anything. The investigation continues, with a new trial set for January 2023.
In January 2022, Rising Phoenix and the three colleges listed above closed, declaring bankruptcy. The students never got their money back: the colleges owed more than $11 million CAD. About 2,000 people have been affected.
A spokesman for the Quebec Ministry of Education said that the provincial government is aware of the situation and is taking action, but the problem is that the colleges are private. A law firm has been appointed to deal with each student individually, and a buyer has been found for the buildings of the three colleges — their sale would allow them to recover at least some of their debts.
Read our article on how to not fall victim to scammers. And here you can read how to increase your chances of immigrating to Canada through education in 2022.
