Post-secondary education continues to be the great equalizer in Canada, providing knowledge, training and economic opportunity to all types of people across all fields of interest. Knowing this, government must continue to build on its commitments for equitable growth by making post-secondary education accessible, affordable, innovative, and high quality. Doing so will open doors for all Canadians to achieve their personal and professional goals and contribute to society in a meaningful way.
While there is no single mechanism for securing long-term economic growth within a country, ensuring Canada has a highly trained and educated population is a strong step in the right direction. In addition, an educated population is also proven to promote higher levels of engagement among citizens, resulting in greater social benefits for communities throughout the country.
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) is calling on the federal government to lead Canada by investing in an inclusive and innovative economy.
CASA Recommends:
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That the federal government invest $27 million per year to establish a six-month, interest-free grace period for CSLP loans;
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That the federal government invest $50.1 million per year into the CSGP and allow master's and doctoral students to access the program;
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That the federal government establish a funding mechanism to support the up-front costs of accessing a mental health disability assessment through the Canada Student Loans Program at a cost of $9 million per year;
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An investment of $106 million per year over the next three years to fully fund the Post-Secondary Student Support Program and address the program’s backlog;
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That the federal government create a “Reconciliation through Post-Secondary Education” Program to support reconciliation programming at institutions throughout the country at a cost of $26 million;
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That the government expand experiential learning opportunities by investing an additional $73 million over 4 years into the Post-Secondary Industry Partnership and Co-operative Placement Initiative;
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That the federal government adopt the model used in Quebec to create a Canada Training Incentive;
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That the federal government support complete research costs, at a cost of $286.5 million per year; and
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That government invest $7 million per year as a pilot project for supporting OERs, as they increase access to learning for all of society and are capable of reaching non-traditional student groups.
