The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition that the federal government says its new limit of issuing about 360,000 international study permits -- 215,000 less than in 2023 -- can alleviate pressures on housing, health care and other services, but some economists expect the impact to be negligible. The Post's Naimul Karim quotes Claire Fan, an economist at Royal Bank of Canada, saying that even if one were to equate each permit to an individual and consider a potential decrease of 215,000 students annually, as per the cap, that would represent just 0.5 per cent of Canada's population. "That figure gives you an idea," Ms. Fan said. "Do we really expect a material change from a macro-perspective, when it comes to inflation, consumer demand and interest rates? I would say it's very negligible." She does not expect rental rates to come down because of the new measure, but they do expect them to grow at a slower pace in the near future. Ms. Fan said authorities should focus more on policies that make it easier to build more homes. Other experts argue that the country would not have needed a cap had there been better provincial checks in the system, and dealing with the clear abuses from sham degree mills.