Photo by Curtis Galbraith (EverythingGP)

By Liam Verster

#KnockOutInterest

GPRC students join national Knock Out Interest campaign

Feb 9, 2021 | 1:00 PM

The Students Association of Grande Prairie Regional College (SAGPRC) has joined the national Knock Out Interest campaign to call for an end of interest accruing on student loans.

The average cost of tuition in Canada is $30,000, and with a base interest rate of 2.45 per cent, graduates typically pay back an additional $4,000 on interest alone.

The Knock Out Interest campaign is calling for the Canadian Government to follow the lead of several provinces, and no longer charge interest on federal loans. British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island do not charge interest on provincial student loans, but many students still have to apply for federal money, which means they leave school with a growing debt.

The Knock Out Interest movement was started by the BC Federation of Students, which is a provincial advocacy group, and they are being supported by a number of advocacy groups and organizations across the country, including the Alberta Student Executive Council.

Emma Doris, the President of the SAGPRC says they have thrown their support behind this cause, as paying off interest on student loans can create added burdens on recent graduates.

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“I think there’s a couple things, one is that student loan debt eventually becomes family debt, and that can kind of stop recent graduates from participating fully in the economy. It can cause students or recent graduates to delay major life milestones, like saving up for a house or getting married and starting a family, that sort of thing,” says Doris.

“So I think the point of this campaign really is also to even the playing field between students who have the money to pay for their education up front and students who have to take loans to pay for their education.”

The Knock Out campaign is calling on people to sign an online petition, write letters to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and local MP’s calling for an end to the interest, and advocating for an end to student loan interest on social media with the hashtag #KnockOutInterest.