TORONTO, Sept. 4 /CNW/ – 16.4% of students in Canada were unemployed in the month of August, according to a report released today by Statistics Canada. This has been the hardest summer since Statistics Canada began collecting student unemployment data in 1977.
“Students have been unable to find summer employment and have not earned enough to pay the bills,” said Dan Moulton, President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). “It’s time for the government to take responsibility and provide greater assistance to help students endure the economic downturn.”
Last year 226,476 students needed the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) in order to attend post-secondary education. OSAP requires each student to contribute a minimum amount of summer income toward his or her education,
regardless of whether or not the student was employed. OSAP then deducts this amount – at least $2,710 – from the loan the student receives.
High unemployment this summer has drastically reduced students’ ability to contribute to their education. Students have long advocated for an OSAP system that takes into account actual cost of living and a reasonable student contribution. The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) stands with the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) in calling on our provincial and federal governments to remove the required summer income contribution for the upcoming school year.
“Given the current economic climate, it’s unreasonable to assume all students will earn enough to meet the minimum OSAP contribution,” said Moulton. “It’s crucial that the Ontario government show leadership on this issue by immediately waiving the minimum summer contribution.”
