Trudeau announces $9B support package for students

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a $9 billion plan to support students during the COVID-19 crisis.

Speaking outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa this morning, he said qualifying students will be given $1,250 a month from May to August under the scheme.

Those with a disability, and those who care for someone, will be eligible for $1,750 a month.

The program is to be known as the Canada Emergency Student Benefit.

Post-secondary students, those going to college in September and those who graduated in December will be eligible.

Students who have a job but only make up to $1,000 a month will also qualify for the benefit.

It will be delivered by the CRA, Trudeau said, and will be retroactive to May 1.

The prime minister said he is working with opposition parties on new legislation.

He also said his government intends to create 76,000 jobs for young people.

They will come in addition to the Canada Summer Jobs Program and be in sectors that need help or those on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19.

There will be specific support for First Nations students, he added.

Grants will also be available for students who volunteer, Trudeau said, with grants of between $1,000 and $5,000 available through the Canada Student Service Grant.

The prime minister was also asked about whether there are plans to help seniors during the COVID-19 crisis.

Trudeau said “help is coming” and stressed that the priority was to help people who had lost their income due to the pandemic.

With the university school year coming to an end, the federal government wanted to ensure students are supported.

But measures for seniors are being worked on, he explained, and he will be announcing more “in the coming days.”

The prime minister said though seniors have a fixed income – which they continue to receive – there are concerns about their long-term savings.

The cost of living has increased, he added, and the disease itself targets older people “to a greater degree.”