Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the House many times, young Canadians and students are the future of Canada. More than 673,000 students each year rely on federal grants and loans to help them cover the cost of their tuition, school supplies and living expenses. That is why we are making historic investments to ensure that students continue to have the supports and opportunities they need to build a better future for themselves and their families.
With budget 2022, we are helping doctors and nurses in rural and remote communities who have student loans. We are investing $26 million over four years so that nurses in these communities will have up to $30,000 in loan forgiveness and doctors will have up to $60,000, respectively.
We are also enhancing the repayment assistance plan as of November 1, and that means people with an income of $40,000 or less will not have to make payments on their students loans. This measure is expected to help an additional 121,000 Canadians each year who have student and apprentice loan debt. Additionally, the cap on what is considered the monthly affordable payment is being lowered from 20% to 10% of a borrower's household income. What is more is that these new thresholds will be indexed to inflation to ensure that people's eligibility for repayment assistance keeps pace with the cost of living.
There is more. With budget 2021, we provided $4.5 billion in funding to support expanded access to post-secondary education. Thanks to the Canada student financial assistance program, students and recent graduates will have more access to direct financial support, making it easier for them to pay off their student debt. In the summer of 2021, we extended the doubling of Canada student grants for an additional two years. We also changed the requirement so that students can use their current income when applying for a grant. That means people in financial need will not have their previous workforce experience count against them.
New measures under the Canada student financial assistance program ensure that post-secondary financial supports are more accessible. Through these remarkable initiatives, I hope it is clear that we are committed to supporting Canada's students and recent graduates, and that we are committed to building the workforce of tomorrow.
