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SARAH DOUGLAS, RAYLENE LANGOR and KATHLEEN O’BRIEN

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) must be expanded to students, now. On Wednesday, in a federal government announcement of CERB expansion to include seasonal workers, students were again reassured new support is “coming soon,” but no action has yet been taken.

Canadian students and recent graduates are at significant financial risk given their effective exclusion from government relief measures. The government of Canada’s current approach to supporting students affected by COVID-19 is problematic at best: assuming all students fit the same image is a dangerous misinterpretation of students’ reality.

This image is that we all receive support from our parents, and have only lost summer or part-time wages. This image assumes we all only rely on public funding, not private loans, to fully cover our tuition and living expenses. Those of us who are independent, over the age of 30, and/or in professional and graduate programs with a mountain of student debt are not covered, and we fall through the cracks.

According to Statistics Canada, there are over 130,000 graduate and professional students enrolled in Canadian universities. This is our shared reality. Indeed, our full-time studies are our full-time jobs; therefore, we do not qualify for Employment Insurance, and many of us have dependents. And no, student loans are not available for the summer months.

CERB excludes students. It leaves out those of us with anticipated, confirmed employment that has now been delayed or cancelled outright. It ignores those of us who made $5,000 last year, but do not qualify because we did not lose a job that was already in progress. CERB also leaves out students who did not make $5,000 last year, even if they had been working a job they lost due to COVID-19.

The proposed changes to the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program are insufficient to meet students’ needs. There are about 2.1 million post-secondary students in Canada (Statistics Canada), many of whom will be without work for the summer or upon graduation. The addition of 70,000 summer jobs still creates a substantial gap, with many students left unemployed and without alternate options for income.

The CSJ does not apply to students over 30. Those lucky enough to qualify for and obtain a CSJ are unnecessarily sent out into the workforce, putting both themselves and their families at risk. CSJ expansion is not a complete solution, as it assumes all students under 30 are neither parents with childcare demands, nor immunocompromised. CSJ does not account for students with delayed or precarious employment start dates for jobs that are mandatory to receive accreditation in their professions. CERB, rather than the CSJ, is a proven and effective means of providing immediate financial assistance to vulnerable Canadians, including students and recent graduates.

While we applaud the government for suspending repayment and interest on federal student loans, this does nothing to help graduating students who would have already received a six-month grace period before repayment. Given the exorbitant cost of professional programs in Canada, student loans are often not enough. Professional and graduate students are often at the mercy of private financial institutions through which we have accessed personal or professional student lines of credit. The banks expect repayment to begin after graduation, even if we have lost our jobs.

The government of Canada needs to step up and act fast to support Canada’s students. Many of us do not have the financial luxury to wait for a solution; we have significant financial burdens and responsibilities. We appreciate that the government is listening, so we want to make sure they hear us. Call your member of Parliament to share your concerns, or sign the www.change.org petition, #Don’tForgetStudents | #N’OubliezPaslesÉtudiants. With nearly 35,000 signatures, this petition is attracting attention to this important issue, and hopefully, will attract change.

Sarah Douglas, Raylene Langor and Kathleen O’Brien will be graduating from Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law this year. They live in HRM.