With Canadian students drowning in debt and facing dismal job prospects after graduation, the Green Party of Canada has long recognized the benefit of helping students and former students save money. That’s why the Green Party has been at the forefront of a movement to abolish tuition fees and provide forgiveness to student debts above $10,000. The Green Party of Canada understands that an investment in Canada’s youth is an investment in Canada’s prosperity.

Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, however, has expressed little interest in abolishing tuition fees and making life more affordable for students and for millennials entering the job market after graduation. The existing political reality of Trudeau’s false majority government means that Canadian students are not likely to see any move to abolish tuition until after the 2019 election.

With this reality in mind, Casey Lalonde, former Green Party candidate and current CEO of the Sudbury Green Party Electoral District Association, has started an online petition to the House of Commons to help alleviate some of the financial burden faced by many students.

“Upon graduation, when I first saw my student loan account and the expected monthly payments, I was shocked to discover how much interest I would be paying back,” Lalonde said in a media release. “I know myself and others would be able to pay down the principle of the loan much more quickly and get out of debt faster if 100 per cent of our payments were going towards the principle instead of the interest. Eliminating interest on student loans is a small and realistic change that will be a big help to people who need it.”

Lalonde, a recent graduate of Laurentian University, is asking for the public’s help to convince Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government to end the practice of charging interest on Canada student loans. Elizabeth May, Green Party of Canada leader and elected MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands, has sponsored Lalonde’s e-petition 1168.

“I have long called for the abolition of interest on student loans,” May said. “The Green Party is committed to investing in youth and removing barriers, like student debt, so young Canadians can find stable, sustainable jobs.”

E-petition 1168 (student loans) requires 500 signatures in order for it to be introduced to the House of Commons. It is available to be signed via the parliament of Canada’s website until Oct. 28 at tinyurl.com/yby4pka8.

sud.editorial@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @SudburyStar