Online petition could end your student debt. is this happening?

student debt in Ontario

"The removal of financial barriers really gives hope and opportunity to tens of thousands of young people who previously thought they just can't leave," said Deb Matthews, the minister for higher education, skills and development

 The petition uses a simple request to "Forgive our OSAP loans"

However, there are ongoing disputes around their radical transformation into OSAP student lending. Although the provincial government grant scheme improves access to low-income families, it is not enough to deal with the student debt of the rest of Ontario's students

Recently, a liberal government has been made to hear the screams of alumni who have so far been saddened by tens of thousands of dollars in student debt, and who believes that the new program has done nothing to help them

Ahmad Moussaoui, a 26-year-old graduate from Windsor, was launched

We had the opportunity to chat with Moussaoui about the reasons for this petition and the progress he has made so far. His main purpose, he said

According to Moussaoui, NDP is the only party to take his petition seriously

Musawi works with NPD to make loans to students an important issue for the current government. This includes the development of a new one

In response to a question about the new website, Moussaoui said that "a website is a kind of plan B," while plan A is actually presented as a formal petition, to which the government should respond. If we do not have this opportunity, if we do not get any debt relief, the plan B will maintain pressure using this website and, I hope, make it the main issue at the next election. "

Minister Mathews explained that she was aware of the petition, which now has more than 60,000 signatures, but the government's attention is now on access. "By eliminating financial barriers, this really gives hope and opportunity to tens of thousands of young people who previously thought that they simply can't leave."

Matthews also argued that "... on average, the exception of interest would save the average borrower at $73 a year, $6.11 per month" on their student loans. In the grand scheme of things, this is not much, but it would certainly be a step in the right direction

Secretary Matthews said

What it means is that all of these changes mean for the rest of Canada, and Matthews told us that the idea could spread: " ... we get a lot of interest from other provinces to see how we were able to do that. New Brunswick introduced something, it's not like ours, but I think it reflects a new emphasis on how we best support access for all students. "

Although the new grant program may ease financial difficulties for incoming students, there are still tens of thousands of graduates trying to repay their loans

It is clear that the Government is currently giving special attention to the rights of access and the creation of equal opportunities for all students. Although the new grant program is likely to contribute to the financial struggle against students, there are still tens of thousands of graduates seeking to repay their loans. There is still a lot of work to be done for Mussaoui and 60,000 students who signed his petition

* Views expressed in respect of the author, and not necessarily for the "Student life" or their partners

Thein is a political science student at the University of Guelph. She loves boring friends with political news and surprisingly smooth on the dance floor