Statement by U15 on Student Summer Visa Processing during Summer 2013 Ottawa, Ontario (September 27, 2013) – Dr. Amit Chakma, Chair of the U15 released the following statement on behalf of the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities. “ I would like to thank Minister Alexander and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada for dedicating the necessary resources to processing student visa applications this past summer. Their efforts ensured that those international students who had applied within the deadlines had their visas in hand for the commencement of the fall session. Even with an increase in applications this year, the government issued over ten percent more student visas and with a higher approval rate than last. Our universities need the continued support and cooperation of the federal government to attract and retain the best and the brightest international students and faculty members to maintain and improve our global research competiveness and to benefit our national economy. We look forward to many more successful collaborations with Minister Alexander and his department in the future. We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the government and PAFSO for reaching a preliminary resolution to the labour dispute.” For further information, please contact: Rob Rosenfeld Director, Advocacy, U15-Group of Canadian Research Universities (613) 716-7358 -30 - As Canada’s fifteen leading research universities, the U15 undertake 80 percent of all competitive university research in Canada, rank among the world’s premier institutions, and represent a research enterprise valued at more than $5 billion annually. Collectively, we produce more than 75 percent of all doctorates awarded in Canada. The U15 University members: University of Alberta – Indira Samarasekera The University of British Columbia – Stephen Toope University of Calgary – Elizabeth Cannon Dalhousie University – Richard Florizone Université Laval – Denis Brière University of Manitoba – David Barnard McGill University – Suzanne Fortier McMaster University – Patrick Deane Université de Montréal – Guy Breton University of Ottawa – Allan Rock Queen’s University – Daniel Woolf University of Saskatchewan – Ilene Busch-Vishniac University of Toronto – David Naylor University of Waterloo – Feridun Hamdullahpur Western University – Amit Chakma .