Mr. Speaker, with COVID-19 rates skyrocketing, the stress on young people and recent graduates is incredible. They lost their summer employment, they have few job options, and those available are often low-paying and put them at risk for COVID-19.
Recent graduates from the University of Alberta, King's University and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, all post-secondary institutions in my riding, are struggling to get by. By rushing to give almost $1 billion that was supposed to go to students to their well-connected friends, the Liberal government has left students and recent graduates in the lurch.
At the urging of the NDP, the government implemented a moratorium on student loan repayments in the spring to give some relief to recent graduates. However, as of September 30, the student loan moratorium ended, despite Canada's descent into a second wave. Extending the interest-free moratorium on student loan repayments could make the difference recent graduates need to get through the winter. Canadians can count on New Democrats to fight for young people, pausing loan payments and getting rid of interest on student loans altogether.