On September 26, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) officially ended. As well, on September 30, the window closed for students to submit last-minute applications for the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB). As the fall semester continues, students now have to assess their financial situation and see if they are eligible for any of the new temporary benefits that have replaced CERB.
Canadian students who had been eligible for CERB now have the option of applying for Employment Insurance (EI). If they worked 120 insurable hours over the course of the year, they can be eligible for a taxable benefit at a rate of at least $500 per week.
“We are preparing to transition as many Canadians as possible from CERB back into the Employment Insurance program in the coming weeks,” the Government of Canada stated on their website. To this effect, new changes to EI will make more people eligible to receive it.
Those who don’t qualify for EI may be eligible for one of three new temporary benefits: the Canada Recovery Benefit, the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit.
We made changes to the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) to allow more students to qualify for support and be eligible for greater amounts.
However, these steps to transition out of CERB don’t apply to many students who only qualified for the student benefit this summer. There are no new benefits to apply for, so students must enter the year without additional financial aid in this regard.
“I think it’s understandable to have CESB end now,” says Hassan Shehata, a fourth-year business administration student. “Perhaps they should introduce a new program for students from low-income backgrounds specifically, or maybe CESB with reduced payments and tighter constraints.”
While there is no word from the government on a new CESB program as of yet, they do say that increased amounts of financial assistance have been made available for post-secondary education.
“We made changes to the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) to allow more students to qualify for support and be eligible for greater amounts,” the website for Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan states. “The changes include doubling the Canada Student Grants for all eligible full-time students to up to $6,000 and up to $3,600 for part-time students in 2020-21.”
As students reflect on the CESB program ending, their feelings about its overall success are mixed.
“For students who were seeking full-time employment but couldn’t find any, this was not an adequate replacement. If they worked full time they would have earned upwards of $10,000, so the $5,000 in CESB doesn’t match that,” says Shehata.
I do not see why universities aren’t held to the same standards for cost-control as the government and corporations. Maybe if they were, we wouldn’t have to pay as much.
“However, I appreciate how easy it was to apply. This enabled students to get access to much needed funds quickly,” he adds. “Some students worked part-time because their work was scaled back or they could’t find full-time work. So for these circumstances, CESB was more than adequate.”
Students also expressed frustration with a perceived lack of discernment when allocating funds.
“I think the government should have monitored it better,” says Faatimah Khan, a third-year mental health studies student at the University of Toronto. “CESB was a huge boost, but also a colossal waste because people who have never worked in their life suddenly had $5,000.”
“I quote a classmate, who said ‘can’t wait to get laser hair removal with this,’” Khan continues. “I’m not paying heavy taxes for the rest of my life so you can have laser hair removal.”
For students like Khan, who usually work full-time during the summer and considered CESB an adequate replacement, the closing of CESB is, therefore, business as usual. This year’s changes to the CSLP should also create a financial buffer for tuition costs as well.
However, the overarching financial issues for post-secondary students do remain.
“I don’t feel that secure with school expenses, but I don’t blame it on CESB ending,” says Shehata. “I just feel like there are many issues that are being overlooked, and I do not see why universities aren’t held to the same standards for cost-control as the government and corporations. Maybe if they were, we wouldn’t have to pay as much.”
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