‘Too little, too late’: Feds freeze student loan interest, but monthly repayments continue

‘Too little, too late’: Feds freeze student loan interest, but monthly repayments continue

People walk past the University of Toronto campus In this file photo. For post-secondary graduates, the interest rate has been set to zero per cent for the federal portion of student loans, but loan repayments will continue. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

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TORONTO — Starting April 1, the interest rate has been set to zero per cent for the federal portion of student loans, but activists say that’s not enough to support recent graduates, many of whom continue to struggle to find jobs as the pandemic persists.?

The proposal to drop the interest rate is included in Bill C-14, which sets out to implement measures included in the fall economic update. While that bill has yet to pass the House of Commons, the National Student Loans Services Centre (NSLSC) has already implemented the interest moratorium, which will last until .?

Patty Facy, who graduated from the University of Toronto last year with a Master of Information degree, said the moratorium is “too little, too late.” Facy is part of the #FreezeTheNSLSC campaign, started by recent graduates calling on the federal government to freeze student loan repayments during the pandemic.

During the first wave of the pandemic last spring, the federal government implemented a freeze on student loan repayments for six months until . This time around, loan holders will still be required to make their monthly payments, although federal interest will stop accumulating.

The interest moratorium also won’t apply to the provincial portion of student loans, although some provinces like British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba don’t charge provincial interest. Continue reading “‘Too little, too late’: Feds freeze student loan interest, but monthly repayments continue”