Despite the number of crimes happening in Canada, including a deadly stabbing spree in Saskatchewan, immigrants from various countries say they still have confidence in local law enforcement.
“In any city, there’s always going to be heavy or little crime stuff,” said Jai Khan, an international student from Pakistan. “If you can keep yourself safe that’s what matters,”
The Canadian Bureau for International Education has recently released their 2021 annual international student survey. It was the first time safety has outranked educational reputation, and 80 per cent of students considered it to be the deciding factor for choosing Canada to continue their education.
Bruno Carly, who recently migrated from Cameroon, feels that Canada is a safe country.
“Canada is transparent about the incidents happening, but in some countries including mine, it’s difficult to know exactly how many crimes happened so it’s difficult to compare,” said Carly.
Karen Clamor, a permanent resident in Canada from the Philippines, was in Jasper on Sept. 4 when she heard the alert related to the stabbing deaths of 11 people in Saskatchewan.
Clamor said that she went to explore Banff during her initial days in Canada when the crime rate at that location was minimal, but there were two homicides in the resort town this summer for the first time in 30 years.
“I think it has to do with the legality of cannabis and marijuana,” said Clamor, speaking about the recent crimes in Canada. “If you are high, you can’t think properly. And people are more likely to commit crime.
“It’s hard to prevent what is out of our control. If a person is under substance, it’s hard to control that, but probably if the government could do something about the legalities and limit the drugs that would lower the crime rate.”
Manmeet Mann, an international student, says he still feels safe in Canada compared to his home country. because there are a lot of crimes there, and the threat is increasing even more.
