Reverse Student-Loan Changes – Hajdu asks Ontario in the Pre-Budget Letter

OTTAWA — The pre-budget bombardment against the Progressive Conservatives of Premier Doug has led to a request to the Ontario government by the federal labour minister regarding reversal of changes to the student-assistance program of the province. Thus there is a Reverse Student-Loan Changes, read more below. 

Patty Hajdu, overlooks the federal student-support programs and has asked her provincial counterpart to refrain from levying interest on student loans at least for a short duration post the graduation of the holder of the loan.

The Details of Reverse Student-Loan Changes

The Ford government, in January, had announced that it would begin levying interest on student loans during the initial six months post their graduation in order to reduce any complications for students as well as to ensure the rules match with the federal Canada Student Loans Program.

However, in their March budget, the Trudeau Liberals had announced a few changes to the federal program which included waiving off the interest charges during the “grace period” of six months.

On Tuesday, Hajdu sent across a to Merrilee Fullerton, the Minister of training, colleges and universities in Ontario, which went as follows:

“With your budget being tabled on Thursday, I hope that you will reconsider changes to student-loan repayment,” Hajdu wrote in the letter. “If you don’t reconsider, it will make post-secondary less affordable, but it will also make it harder for businesses to access the skilled workforce Ontario needs to continue its growth.”

This letter is the latest altercation between both the governments, with quite a few battles related to the application of carbon tax in Ontario by the Liberals, the promotion of the infrastructure programs federally backed by the Ford government, and the imposition of costs by the federal immigration policies on the provinces.

The change to the Ontario Student Assistance Program was among a number the Tories made because they said the program had become unsustainable after the previous Liberal government under Premier Kathleen Wynne decided to cover all tuition costs for low-income students.

Weeks prior to the last budget of the Liberals being tabled, prior to the elections due in fall, a research report was presented to the federal officials which showed the expenses of post-secondary education, and the risk of heading into debts in order to repay it was a concern for the youth at risk which is a group inclusive of immigrants, people with disabilities, primitive people,  and those with low incomes.

Borrowers generally take anywhere from 9-15 years to completely repay their federal loans. However, the government also gives up on few of the $19 billion amount owed in student loans, periodically, for various reasons: a debtor is missing, bankruptcy filed by the debtor, the debt itself has passed the legal limit on the collection of 6 years, or the debtor can’t be found.  

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Diksha Garg

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