Amid diplomatic tensions between Canada and Saudi Arabia, the Middle Eastern nation is reportedly planning to withdraw its more than 15,000 students from Canadian universities and colleges, including Queen’s University.

Tensions between the two countries boiled over last week after a tweet from Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland condemned the arrest of Saudi women’s rights activist Samar Badawi.

“Very alarmed to learn that Samar Badawi, Raif Badawi’s sister, has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia,” Freeland wrote in her tweet. “Canada stands together with the Badawi family in this difficult time, and we continue to strongly call for the release of both Raif and Samar Badawi.”

Now, amid a number of forceful diplomatic measures taken by Saudi Arabia, international students studying at Canadian institutions are being repatriated and told to study elsewhere.

Though Queen’s refused to say how many Saudi nationals are currently enrolled at the university, it did reveal that 37 medical students providing patient care at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) are being repatriated.

In a brief statement made by the university, it wrote “[The Saudi Arabian] government has directed that all training, scholarships and fellowships to Canada will be suspended and all students will transfer their studies to other countries.”

Almost 1,900 students from Saudi Arabia — or one in five of all students from the country — are enrolled at Ontario universities, at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Queen’s and other universities in Canada that make up the U15, are home to approximately 2,000 Saudi students and medical residents.

In a written statement, KHSC Director of Medical Affairs Chris Gillies said the centre will be “working closely” with Queen’s to ensure there is no impact on patient care as a result of the recall.

Gillies said the Saudi medical students working at KHSC are an “integral part” of the organization and that their contributions are greatly valued.

The Saudi students at KHSC are spread thinly across 16 programs, meaning the centre doesn’t anticipate any impact on patient care when the students head home. In all, KHSC and Queen’s host more than 550 medical residents and fellows, many of which are international students from other countries.

“Medical trainees play an important role in all academic hospitals in Canada. We are sorry to see these 37 trainees leave us before completing their education in Kingston,” Gillies said.

In the university’s statement, it said “Queen’s values the contributions of our Saudi Arabian students and hopes that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will reconsider its decisions to repatriate Saudi students and their families.”

The Kingston Whig-Standard 2018 ©