Latest news with #UniversitéduQuébec
10-06-2025
She came to Canada for university, but she'd never been accepted. The scam cost her $7K
With an admission letter to a Quebec university in hand, Aminata flew from Benin, west Africa, to Montreal with $2,000 in her pocket to fulfil her dream of pursuing higher education in Canada. Back in 2022, she'd connected with a man who she says positioned himself as a consultant who could process her documents and submit her university and immigration applications. But not long after she landed in Montreal and made her way to Chicoutimi, Que., she realized it was all a scam. She had not been accepted to university. She did not have a scholarship. Her immigration papers were fraudulent and based on a falsified acceptance letter. My dream turned into a nightmare, Aminata said. CBC is using a pseudonym to protect her identity because, due to her falsified immigration papers, she is without legal status in Canada. Clasping her hands while sitting in her apartment in Chicoutimi, nearly two years after the ordeal, the 30-year-old Beninois still doesn't feel settled or safe. I'm living with the fear that at any time I can get deported, she said. This is not a life. Aminata doesn't want to go back home now, saying she would have to completely start again in Benin. CBC News is using a pseudonym to protect her identity because of her immigration status. (CBC) Photo: CBC / Rachel Watts Aminata was not the only victim of the scam. CBC News has spoken to another woman who says the same man who presented himself as a consultant took her money after he was hired to submit her university applications. According to an expert, not only is this type of fraud becoming common, but prospective students in Africa are among those targeted by scammers in high numbers. 'I gave him all my money' For Aminata, it all started when she came into contact with the consultant through her uncle. She said the pair agreed on $4,000 before the price for the agent's service went up. I gave him all my money, she said, adding that it totalled about $7,000 in the end. She sent along the required documents — her birth certificate and diplomas. Within a few months, she was emailed an acceptance letter into the master of organization management program at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. She says the man also managed to get her the Quebec Acceptance Certificate (new window) (CAQ) — the province's mandatory document which permits international students to apply for a study permit. Although she considered deferring her acceptance to stay in Benin to save up money, she says the agent, who is also from Benin and studied in Chicoutimi, pressured her to book the flights and start school immediately. He asked me to not worry. [That] everything is under control, she said. But something was off. She arrived in Montreal on Aug. 28, 2023, and in mere days, the whole scheme unraveled. WATCH | Aminata says her dream turned into a nightmare: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? They paid a consultant thousands to help them go to university in Canada. It was a scam Two women who came from West Africa to study in Quebec say they found out after they arrived that the university acceptance letters arranged for them by a consultant, which their immigration papers were based on, were fraudulent. She says the consultant suddenly informed her he was deferring her acceptance. A fellow Chicoutimi student in whom she confided about her situation told Aminata she needed to go to the administration to sort out her status as a student. She says the consultant wouldn't answer her calls but when she finally got him on the line, he became defensive, started shouting, and told her not to give the school the documentation and acceptance letter he provided. They told me that they feel like I have been scammed, she recalled the school's administration saying, adding that she found out her real application file was open but incomplete. She says the consultant had submitted fraudulent paperwork. That day, I was feeling like this is not true, she said. Another victim, same story Fatim only realized she was a victim of a scam after seeing Aminata's story in a Radio-Canada report. (new window) Her story was the same as mine, said Fatim, who travelled to Quebec from Benin in July 2023. CBC News is also using a pseudonym to protect her identity because of her concerns over her immigration status. She arrived with the intention of starting university in Chicoutimi after receiving an admission letter and documentation from the same consultant as Aminata. Aminata pictured with her university acceptance letter. She believed it was authentic until she approached the school's administration. Photo: Radio-Canada / Priscilla Plamondon Lalancette Upon arrival, she says the consultant abandoned her despite promises to help her defer her acceptance. I didn't know it was fraud but I had felt that something was not normal, said Fatim, who says she still feels overwhelmed and imprisoned by her situation. Her father, who was responsible for connecting with the consultant, sent him thousands of dollars to help secure the university applications — even selling a property to afford it. Knowing the effort and money he put into helping her, Fatim says she tried to keep the truth from him after her schooling fell through. One day my dad said, 'my girl, tell me what's really going on?' said Fatim. I remember it like it was yesterday. She said once her father found out what happened, his health took a turn for the worse. He felt responsible for getting his daughter into trouble without even knowing it. He died in December 2024, and Fatim couldn't get back home. Although she considered returning to Benin to her family and husband — whom she hasn't seen in nearly two years — she says she wants to build a life for herself in Canada and prove to Immigration Canada that this was truly not her fault. She says the agent had previously told her she could apply for asylum in Canada to secure her immigration status — a step she said didn't feel right. She says she didn't want to abuse Canada's system. Fatim recalled telling the consultant, I want another way out of this mess you've gotten me into. CBC News contacted the man who Aminata and Fatim say scammed them. In a brief phone call, he denied allegations that he is an agent who helps people submit applications to university. He also denied having taken any money. CBC has not been able to reach him for follow up questions or an interview. His number has since been deactivated. Dozens of fraudulent admission letters The way things are, victims of immigration fraud often have little recourse, says Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer and policy analyst based in Vancouver. He says it's also more difficult for people to do their due diligence because they are less familiar with the Canadian college system. The communication infrastructure is not the same, he said. And literally some people have sold the farm to get to Canada to study. Now those are tragedies. In his career, he says scams for immigration foreign study permits have become as common as Vancouver rain. The Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) says 44 cases of fraudulent admission letters were identified by the registrar's office between June and December 2023. While most of the individuals who received these letters did not show up on campus, 12 did, said a university spokesperson in an emailed statement. In cases where individuals showed up on campus with a CAQ document and study permit obtained through the falsified letter, UQAC says they took the necessary precautions to advise the authorities. UQAC says several calls were made to Quebec's Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration to question the validity of the CAQ paperwork obtained by these students. In an emailed statement, the ministry told CBC that in the past few years, admission letters containing irregular elements and inauthentic parts have been detected in several files. The Université du Québec à Chicoutimi says between June and December 2023, 44 cases of fraudulent admission letters were identified by the registrar's office. Photo: Radio-Canada / Julien Gagnon Although these situations remain marginal in relation to the overall volume of requests processed, they are rigorously monitored, read the statement. The ministry also confirmed that in order to act as an immigration consultant, an individual must be recognized as such by the government. When an immigration consultant obtains this recognition, his or her name is entered in the register of immigration consultants (new window) . The name of the consultant both women used is not part of the province's list. 1,550 study permit applications linked to fraud In 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that investigations uncovered nearly 1,550 study permit applications were linked to fraudulent letters of acceptance. This number also includes those that were detected two to three years prior, it says. These applications were intended for designated learning institutions (new window) (DLIs) — a school approved by a provincial or territorial government to host international students, read the statement. In most of these cases, the fraud was detected and subsequent applications were refused, it said. IRCC says the verification process for acceptance letters requires that DLIs verify the authenticity of all letters. To date, the improved letter of acceptance verification system has intercepted more than 10,000 potentially fraudulent letters of acceptance, IRCC says. 'Nobody is doing anything' Both Fatim and Aminata have blocked the consultant's number and are being represented by the same lawyer in their attempt to find a solution for their cases and move forward. Aminata says when she was first informed about the scam, she told UQAC that the agent who falsified her acceptance was a student. UQAC confirmed to Radio-Canada that he was then expelled from his university program. Aminata applied to the university again, contacted the prime minister, the federal minister of immigration, provincial politicians, the anti-fraud service and local police. After that, there was a silence, she said. Saguenay police confirmed to Radio-Canada that they could not take on Aminata's file because the fraud happened overseas. In an emailed statement, it says the victim was referred to her embassy and local police force. They asked me to talk and I talked and nobody is doing anything, Aminata said. I still have that little bit of light … hope that things will change. Rachel Watts (new window) · CBC News
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
She came to Canada for university, but she'd never been accepted. The scam cost her $7K
With an admission letter to a Quebec university in hand, Aminata flew from Benin, west Africa, to Montreal with $2,000 in her pocket to fulfil her dream of pursuing higher education in Canada. Back in 2022, she'd connected with a man who she says positioned himself as a consultant who could process her documents and submit her university and immigration applications. But not long after she landed in Montreal and made her way to Chicoutimi, Que., she realized it was all a scam. She had not been accepted to university. She did not have a scholarship. Her immigration papers were fraudulent and based on a falsified acceptance letter. "My dream turned into a nightmare," Aminata said. CBC is using a pseudonym to protect her identity because, due to her falsified immigration papers, she is without legal status in Canada. Clasping her hands while sitting in her apartment in Chicoutimi, nearly two years after the ordeal, the 30-year-old Beninois still doesn't feel settled or safe. "I'm living with the fear that at any time I can get deported," she said. "This is not a life." Aminata doesn't want to go back home now, saying she would have to completely "start again" in Benin. Aminata was not the only victim of the scam. CBC News has spoken to another woman who says the same man who presented himself as a consultant took her money after he was hired to submit her university applications. According to an expert, not only is this type of fraud becoming common, but prospective students in Africa are among those targeted by scammers in high numbers. 'I gave him all my money' For Aminata, it all started when she came into contact with the consultant through her uncle. She said the pair agreed on $4,000 before the price for the agent's service went up. "I gave him all my money," she said, adding that it totalled about $7,000 in the end. She sent along the required documents — her birth certificate and diplomas. Within a few months, she was emailed an acceptance letter into the master of organization management program at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. She says the man also managed to get her the Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) — the province's mandatory document which permits international students to apply for a study permit. Although she considered deferring her acceptance to stay in Benin to save up money, she says the agent, who is also from Benin and studied in Chicoutimi, pressured her to book the flights and start school immediately. "He asked me to not worry. [That] everything is under control," she said. But something was off. She arrived in Montreal on Aug. 28, 2023, and in mere days, the whole scheme unraveled. WATCH | Aminata says her dream turned into a nightmare: She says the consultant suddenly informed her he was deferring her acceptance. A fellow Chicoutimi student in whom she confided about her situation told Aminata she needed to go to the administration to sort out her status as a student. She says the consultant wouldn't answer her calls but when she finally got him on the line, he became defensive, started shouting, and told her not to give the school the documentation and acceptance letter he provided. "They told me that they feel like I have been scammed," she recalled the school's administration saying, adding that she found out her real application file was open but incomplete. She says the consultant had submitted fraudulent paperwork. "That day, I was feeling like this is not true," she said. Another victim, same story Fatim only realized she was a victim of a scam after seeing Aminata's story in a Radio-Canada report. "Her story was the same as mine," said Fatim, who travelled to Quebec from Benin in July 2023. CBC News is also using a pseudonym to protect her identity because of her concerns over her immigration status. She arrived with the intention of starting university in Chicoutimi after receiving an admission letter and documentation from the same consultant as Aminata. Upon arrival, she says the consultant abandoned her despite promises to help her defer her acceptance. "I didn't know it was fraud but I had felt that something was not normal," said Fatim, who says she still feels overwhelmed and "imprisoned" by her situation. Her father, who was responsible for connecting with the consultant, sent him thousands of dollars to help secure the university applications — even selling a property to afford it. Knowing the effort and money he put into helping her, Fatim says she tried to keep the truth from him after her schooling fell through. "One day my dad said, 'my girl, tell me what's really going on?'" said Fatim. "I remember it like it was yesterday." She said once her father found out what happened, his health took a turn for the worse. "He felt responsible for getting his daughter into trouble without even knowing it." He died in December 2024, and Fatim couldn't get back home. Although she considered returning to Benin to her family and husband — whom she hasn't seen in nearly two years — she says she wants to build a life for herself in Canada and prove to Immigration Canada that this was truly not her fault. She says the agent had previously told her she could apply for asylum in Canada to secure her immigration status — a step she said didn't feel right. She says she didn't want to abuse Canada's system. Fatim recalled telling the consultant, "I want another way out of this mess you've gotten me into." CBC News contacted the man who Aminata and Fatim say scammed them. In a brief phone call, he denied allegations that he is an agent who helps people submit applications to university. He also denied having taken any money. CBC has not been able to reach him for follow up questions or an interview. His number has since been deactivated. Dozens of fraudulent admission letters The way things are, victims of immigration fraud often have little recourse, says Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer and policy analyst based in Vancouver. He says it's also more difficult for people to do their due diligence because they are less familiar with the Canadian college system. "The communication infrastructure is not the same," he said. "And literally some people have sold the farm to get to Canada to study. Now those are tragedies." In his career, he says scams for immigration foreign study permits have become as "common as Vancouver rain." The Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) says 44 cases of fraudulent admission letters were identified by the registrar's office between June and December 2023. While most of the individuals who received these letters did not show up on campus, 12 did, said a university spokesperson in an emailed statement. In cases where individuals showed up on campus with a CAQ document and study permit obtained through the falsified letter, UQAC says they took the "necessary precautions to advise the authorities." UQAC says several calls were made to Quebec's Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration to question the validity of the CAQ paperwork obtained by these students. In an emailed statement, the ministry told CBC that in the past few years, admission letters containing "irregular elements" and "inauthentic" parts have been detected in several files. "Although these situations remain marginal in relation to the overall volume of requests processed, they are rigorously monitored," read the statement. The ministry also confirmed that in order to act as an immigration consultant, an individual must be recognized as such by the government. When an immigration consultant obtains this recognition, his or her name is entered in the register of immigration consultants. The name of the consultant both women used is not part of the province's list. 1,550 study permit applications linked to fraud In 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that investigations uncovered nearly 1,550 study permit applications were linked to fraudulent letters of acceptance. This number also includes those that were detected two to three years prior, it says. These applications were intended for designated learning institutions (DLIs) — a school approved by a provincial or territorial government to host international students, read the statement. "In most of these cases, the fraud was detected and subsequent applications were refused," it said. IRCC says the verification process for acceptance letters requires that DLIs verify the authenticity of all letters. To date, the improved letter of acceptance verification system has intercepted more than 10,000 potentially fraudulent letters of acceptance, IRCC says. 'Nobody is doing anything' Both Fatim and Aminata have blocked the consultant's number and are being represented by the same lawyer in their attempt to find a solution for their cases and move forward. Aminata says when she was first informed about the scam, she told UQAC that the agent who falsified her acceptance was a student. UQAC confirmed to Radio-Canada that he was then expelled from his university program. Aminata applied to the university again, contacted the prime minister, the federal minister of immigration, provincial politicians, the anti-fraud service and local police. "After that, there was a silence," she said. Saguenay police confirmed to Radio-Canada that they could not take on Aminata's file because the fraud happened overseas. In an emailed statement, it says "the victim was referred to her embassy and local police force." "They asked me to talk and I talked and nobody is doing anything," Aminata said. "I still have that little bit of light … hope that things will change."
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Business Standard
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Canada sees 5,500 foreign student asylum claims in 2025, up 22% from 2024
Canada is seeing record numbers of international students seeking asylum, with 2024 marking the highest ever recorded. In the first three months of 2025, 5,500 claims were filed by students, according to figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released on May 13. That's a 22 per cent rise from the same period last year. The IRCC data also show that in 2024, international students filed 20,245 asylum claims. This is nearly double the number in 2023 and six times higher than in 2019. However, IRCC also said, 'The proportion of permit holders claiming asylum remains small compared to total permits issued.' India Nigeria Guinea Ghana Democratic Republic of Congo This information was shared by the IRCC in response to Global News' questions on May 20. Reasons for the rise Many students arrive on study permits with hopes of starting a new life. When traditional immigration routes close, some see asylum as a last resort. Some also face exploitative conditions at private colleges, described by some as 'diploma mills,' which leave them with degrees that hold little weight in the job market. Darshan Maharaja, a Canada-based immigration analyst, told Business Standard, 'Many Indians could choose that option. Apart from the geographical proximity, they are likely to be encouraged by the fact that the political Left, which has sympathies for would-be deportees, is dominant in Canada. Moreover, there are individuals and groups who are willing to help them.' Student asylum claims by college Data from Global News show the top colleges where international students filed asylum claims in 2024: Conestoga College: 720 claims Seneca College: 650 claims Université du Québec à Chicoutimi: 500 claims Niagara College: 495 claims Collège Ellis – Trois-Rivières: 475 claims Université du Québec à Chicoutimi said, 'We are not in a position to know the intentions of international students.' Meanwhile, Ellis College warned it may stop accepting students from 'certain French-speaking African countries' unless there is clearer communication from immigration authorities. Government's move to reduce numbers Prime Minister Mark Carney is under pressure to reduce the number of international students and temporary residents to ease the strain on housing and social services. On May 2, 2025, Carney announced a plan to cap the number of temporary residents, including students, at under five per cent of Canada's population by 2027. That figure currently stands at seven per cent. 'This will help ease strains on housing, on public infrastructure and social services,' said Carney. To achieve this, Ottawa cut study permits by 40 per cent in 2024, reducing the number to around 360,000. It also restricted work hours for foreign students and tightened spousal work permit rules. Former Immigration Minister Marc Miller called the system 'overheated' and said some colleges were offering low-value credentials. India leads in foreign student numbers More than 40 per cent of international students in Canada come from India. China follows with around 10 per cent. Indian students also seek asylum in the US A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University shows that Indians had also been increasingly claiming asylum in the United States. The number rose from 9,000 in 2018 to 51,000 in 2023 — a 466 per cent increase. Is it possible for an international student to claim asylum in Canada? Yes. International students can apply for asylum in Canada if they can prove a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country. In 2023, 13,660 claims were filed by international students, up from 1,810 in 2018. Among those, 2,290 claims came from Indian nationals and 1,990 from Nigerian students. Country-wise data is not yet available for 2024, 2025.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Surge in asylum reveals struggles of international students amid Canada's immigration crackdown
Canada is seeing a record-breaking surge in international students seeking asylum , with 2024 marking an all-time high, and it is expected to rise in 2025. Over 20,245 international students claimed asylum in 2024, according to newly obtained federal data that is nearly double the number in 2023 and six times higher than in 2019. In just the first three months of 2025, 5,500 asylum claims were filed by students, a 22% rise from the same period last year. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo Students from countries experiencing turmoil arrive on study permits, often with hopes of building a new life, but when traditional immigration pathways close, asylum becomes a last resort. 'The government has closed a lot of doors for international students to apply for permanent residence,' said Toronto-based immigration lawyer Chantal Desloges. 'It's funneling people to look for other solutions.' Live Events Many students, especially from countries in Africa and parts of Asia, arrive to find exploitative conditions at under-regulated private colleges, some dubbed 'diploma mills.' Their degrees often hold little value in the job market, and promised work or immigration pathways evaporate. Among the schools with the highest number of asylum claims in 2024: Conestoga College (720 claims) Seneca College (650) Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (500) Niagara College (495) Collège Ellis – Trois-Rivières (475) Yet colleges say they are in the dark. 'We are not in a position to know the intentions of international students,' said Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Ellis College warned that without better communication from immigration officials, it may stop accepting students from 'certain French-speaking African countries.' Prime Minister Mark Carney , newly in office, is under pressure to reduce immigration. He pledged to limit temporary residents, including foreign students, to under 5% of Canada's population by 2027, down from 7%, to ease pressure on housing and social services. 'There would be ill effects on people, their families, and their employers,' said Ottawa-based lawyer Warren Creates. 'Have refugees created [the housing crisis]? No. Have they exacerbated it a bit? Probably.' Ottawa has already slashed study permits by 40%, tightened work rights for students and spouses, and promised to crack down on 'overheated' immigration and questionable schools. Meanwhile, students wait. The Immigration and Refugee Board faces a backlog of 281,000, but the effects will take time to show, officials admit. cases. Each student must prove they face a 'well-founded fear of persecution' back home. Why an increase in the number of students in Canada? Canada became a top destination for international students due to its quality education, affordable tuition, and welcoming immigration policies. Students from countries facing conflict or limited opportunities were especially drawn to the promise of safety, work opportunities, and a future in Canada. However, the rapid rise in student numbers overwhelmed the system. Some colleges, especially private ones, recruited aggressively without offering strong academic or career support. Many students ended up in precarious situations, with few options to stay legally. As housing and public services came under pressure, the government responded by cutting study permits and tightening rules. Now, more students are turning to asylum as a last resort. Immigration Policy under Prime Minister Mark Carney Canada's Prime Minister, Mark Carney, is ushering in a major shift in immigration policy, aimed at balancing compassion with sustainability. 'Immigration caps will remain in place until we've expanded housing, and we've reabsorbed the levels of immigration that have happened in our country during the pandemic,' Carney stated, highlighting a new era of caution. Under this plan, permanent resident admissions will be kept below 1% of Canada's population annually beyond 2027. At the same time, temporary residents, including international students and foreign workers, will be reduced to under 5% of the total population by the end of 2027, through tighter visa issuance, transitions to permanent residency, or natural permit expirations. The policy also focuses on easing pressure on public services, increasing francophone immigration outside Quebec, modernizing visa processing, and enhancing border enforcement. As Canada tightens its immigration system under Prime Minister Mark Carney, international students are increasingly caught in limbo. With traditional pathways narrowing, many are left turning to asylum, not by choice, but by necessity.
CBC
27-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
Whole-body deodorant is no fix for accepting that everybody stinks sometimes
As the weather warms up and we start to spend more time outdoors, many of us will be reminded that people have a tendency to smell. Pharmaceutical companies have tried for years to convince people to purchase products that cover up their smells, even introducing deodorant for the whole body. "We all have B.O.," Sarah Everts, a Carleton University associate professor and author of The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration, told Dr. Brian Goldman, host of The Dose podcast. While pharmaceutical companies continue to market products aimed at encouraging people to cover up their natural scents and help stop sweating, experts say that body odour and sweat are perfectly natural and people shouldn't worry about them quite so much. Why do we sweat? University of Calgary kinesiologist Patricia Doyle-Baker said sweating is a response to the environment. "[Sweating] is a biological advantage, because we can do any type of exercise or be in a hot environment and our body is able to thermoregulate itself," she said. Both Doyle-Baker and Everts describe sweating as a kind of evolutionary "superpower," because our bodies provided us with a mechanism to rapidly cool down after explosively bouts of exercise. "We are better than any other animal at cooling down," said Everts. Sweating happens when the skin sends signals to the brain indicating that the body is getting hot, triggering sweat glands to release a liquid mixture of mostly water, as well as salt, potassium and carbohydrates. The beads of water that form on our skin evaporate, cooling us down. That said, the sweat generated by the endocrine glands on our skin is a little different than the sweat produced by the apocrine glands in our armpits or groins. The kind from our armpits and groins are a little fattier, which is part of what leads to the unique mixture of scents we sometimes call body odour — especially when combined with bacteria on our skin. "Although we think of sweat as being odourless, when it mixes with that bacteria, that's what produces the smell," said Doyle-Baker. How do we smell? Dr. Johannes Frasnelli, a psychologist from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, says even the most basic single-cellular organism needs a way to sense its environment. "Let's say there's a sugar present, well then they'd rather go there. Some toxins present, well then they'd rather move away. And we basically do the same thing," he said. Frasnelli says both our senses of smell and taste are essential for maintaining our airways, our gastrointestinal system and the rest of the body. Humans are able to smell thanks to our olfactory systems, which allow our noses to identify inhaled molecules and transmit that information to our brains through electrical signals. WATCH | The truth about vaginal detoxing: The truth about vaginal detoxing 5 years ago Duration 4:22 Health Canada has stopped the sale of a natural health care product that is marketed as a way to "detox" vaginas, following an investigation by CBC's Marketplace. Our investigation found that Goddess Vaginal Detox Pearls' claims of cleansing and healing from sexual trauma could lead to serious mental and physical health impacts. Olfactory information is also processed through the limbic system, the part of the nervous system that's responsible for things like memory. "So when we smell something, the brain areas that are involved in memory formation, in memory retrieval, that are involved in emotions, that are involved in reward, are directly activated," said Frasnelli. The relationship between smell and memory is part of the reason why certain smells can make us feel like we've travelled through time, remembering moments when we first encountered them. Why do we smell? Frasnelli says our armpits, genitals and buttocks produce a mix of things that are distinct from person to person. "This cocktail of substances is not entirely understood yet what exactly is in it, but we know that this cocktail is individually different between all of us," he said. At the same time, he says that body odour is affected by a number of factors, including the foods we eat, meaning that eating foods with distinct aromas will sometimes make us smell like them. "We can very well imagine that different cultures eat different things and will therefore smell different because of that," said Frasnelli. Exploring the cultural factor Despite what some might believe, there are very few universally agreed upon bad smells. According to Frasnelli, multiple factors play into our like or dislike of scents, including how strong it is, as well as how long we smell it, and even the emotions surrounding a smell. A person's reaction to body odour, for instance, can be determined by how familiar they are with a certain smell. Familiar scents can be attractive to us, but scents that are too familiar can protect us from accidentally pursuing a mate who is related to us. Speaking from personal experience, Frasnelli added that different cultures have different views on body odour. " I grew up in Europe, and I've been living in North America and Canada now for 20 years, and I can definitely confirm that the rules around body hygiene are different," he said. "What is acceptable as body odour in the parts of Europe where i grew up are not acceptable in the part of of North America." The pitfalls of too much deodorant Dr. Renee Beach, a Toronto dermatologist, said there are potential social and medical downsides to wearing too much deodorant to mask our natural scent. "The risk socially is smelling like a walking perfume factory," said Beach in an email to CBC. "This is brutal in certain close encounter situations like elevators, medical appointments." Though not quite deodorant, French President Emmanuel Macron's alleged overuse of cologne generated headlines after an author claimed that aides could smell the politician before he walked into the room. Medically speaking, wearing deodorant risks irritating skin, especially skin that's inflamed or broken, said Beach. Beach says the risk of skin allergy isn't dependent on the amount worn, but on the ingredients in the deodorant. However, she cautions against using whole-body deodorant. Instead, she says showering regularly with soap and water should suffice in maintaining good hygiene. "In particular, the concept of intimate skin deodorant/body perfume is not only unnecessary for the vast majority of us, but potentially irritating to our skin and in our intimate areas," said Beach. "Unfortunately some of the advertising around this concept has preyed upon our insecurities and fears of having odour when body scents are completely natural and, again, often sufficiently controlled with daily bathing."
