Immigration Minister Marc Miller yesterday enacted new regulations he acknowledged will cost Canadian jobs, a first for any federal cabinet. Miller’s department in a legal notice quietly reneged on a public promise to limit foreign students in the workforce.

“This may result in increased competition for Canadian workers,” wrote the Department of Immigration in a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement. New regulations would especially impact young Canadian workers seeking entry level jobs, it said.

Miller last April 29 had announced repeal of regulations under the Immigration And Refugee Protection Act that allowed 1,040,000 foreign students to work unlimited hours. “The policy expires today and it won’t be renewed,” Miller told reporters at the time. “The idea behind the international student program is to study, not to work.”