Sudbury's Green Party is hoping the federal government will help students escape crushing debt a little sooner.

Casey Lalonde, the CEO of Sudbury's Green Party Electoral District Association, has started an online petition calling for the abolition (or elimination) of interest on student loans.

The petition, sponsored by Green Party leader Elizabeth May, is currently at 404 signatures.

Lalonde, a recent graduate from Laurentian University, said she was shocked when she discovered how much of her monthly payments were going towards paying down interest. She is certain others are in the same circumstances.

"Most people put a significant amount of income towards paying down debt," Lalonde said. "It makes it difficult to get ahead, and make progress."

Lalonde also said the current job market, coupled with increasing tuition fees makes it increasingly difficult for graduates to gain some breathing room.

"Tuition fees have gone up in the last twenty, thirty years, outpacing inflation," she said. "And it's hard to find a job where you make enough money to save for retirement, invest, or pay off student loans."

"A lot of jobs are short term, and contract. I think a lot of people are having a hard time making ends meet."

Feds write off millions in student debt

In February, the federal government wrote off $178.4 millions in student loans it will never collect.

The money represents 32,554 loans that federal officials believe they will never be able to collect, either because a debtor may have filed for bankruptcy, the debt itself has passed a six-year legal limit on collection, or the debtor can't be found.

In 2016, the government wrote off 33,967 loans totalling $176 million.

Federal officials have increased their efforts in recent years to collect outstanding student loans after watching write-offs hit $312 million in 2012 and $295 million in 2015.

Province giving low-paid grads some breathing room

And in April, Ontario's provincial government announced that recent graduates will be able to wait until they earn $35,000 a year before they begin to repay the provincial portion of their student loans, a tweak to 2016's surprise budget highlight that overhauled the Ontario Student Assistance Program.

That change will take effect in 2018, according to the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development.

The previous minimum salary requirement was $25,000.