Selkirk College will close its Kootenay Studio Arts program in Nelson at the end of the academic year due to what it says are financial pressures following federal cuts to immigration.

College president Maggie Matear made the announcement in an Oct. 17 letter to staff obtained by the Nelson Star.

The building at 606 Victoria St. houses the arts program, which will immediately suspend its intake for all of its programs including ceramics, textile arts, blacksmithing and metal arts. Ten people will lose their jobs as a result of the closure.

The cutback is a result of new federal immigration policies that have reduced the number of international students given study permits in Canada. Those students have been a significant source of revenue for Canadian community colleges.

Immigratio

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