Ensuring that all Canadians can become highly educated and trained is at the core of creating a stable, competitive and productive economic future. If adopted, our recommendations below would enhance existing federal programs and thereby improve student productivity throughout their studies, as well as in the workforce as contributors to the broader Canadian economy. 

CASA's Recommendations:

• That the Tri-Agencies create a pilot grant program, at an estimated $8 million, to support the development and distribution of OERs.
• Establish a Canada-wide, interest-free non-repayment period on student loans at an annual cost of $95 million.
• Introduce a Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) funding mechanism to support the up-front costs of procuring a mental health accessibility assessment at a cost of $25 million dollars.
• Expand Canada Summer Jobs to include 40,000 new part-time and year-round jobs for students at an estimated annual cost of $127 million.
• Invest an additional $37.5 million in new Tri-Agencies funding specifically for graduate students.
• Use Canada’s Fundamental Science Review as a blueprint for long-term federal government support for research.

This document was submitted to the Government of Canada in August 2017. Read CASA's full 2018 Pre-Budget Submission here. You may also view below our presentation of these recommendations to the Standing Committee on Finance, which occurred on August 20, 2017.